Kitsunebi
by Kurama no Miko2003
Summary: Kurama has mysteriously disappeared following a trip back to the Ningenkai to visit his mother. As the mystery is unveiled, Hiei finds he must do everything in his power to reclaim his fox. Yomi x Kurama, Hiei x Kurama First story of the Foxfire arc
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fanfiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Kurama x Hiei, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: "blah blah blah" is talking, 'blah blah blah' is thinking, and _blah blah blah_ is telepathic messages.

Kitsune-bi: Foxfire

Chapter 1

Kurama sits in his apartment in the Ningenkai; eyes narrow with anger as he listens to the message that came from the ball. Yomi had sent him another request to rejoin his side in the upcoming war. Even though the first Makai Tournament had turned out well and everyone had followed the rules, the second one did not go nearly as well. The victor had been a youkai that was determined to start a war with the Reikai, which then led to a coup d'état by a joint coalition with Yuusuke, Mukuro and Yomi. Since then, the Makai had settled back into an uneasy peace. When it became clear to Mukuro where Hiei's loyalty truly lay and that Yomi had managed to lay claim to half the Makai, she decided a truce with Yuusuke was the best way to go about maintaining peace and staying in power. As a result, Hiei had been sent to Torin as Alaric's ambassador. If nothing else, Mukuro reasoned, Hiei would learn a thing or two about politics.

Kurama sighs, reconsidering the message. Yomi had tried once more to use the fox's human family against him to persuade the youko to join his side. The thing that concerned Kurama the most, however, was not the threat itself, but that Yomi had mentioned that he knew that the fox's human family had been protected with an untraceable spell, granting them safety from those with malicious intent. It was Koenma's idea, after seeing the years Kurama had loyally served him, risking his life multiple times. After a few more moments in deep thought, Kurama goes to the closet in his bedroom and opens the door. His clothes hung on either side of a large drawer set with a large oval mirror on top. To the right of the mirror sat a slender crystal vase with a single blood red rose. Opening the top drawer, the youko puts a variety of seeds into his hair. After closing that drawer, Kurama bends to open the bottom drawer, pulling out a few changes of clothes and other necessities he would need.

After packing a small bag, the fox tucks the rose into his hair, where it disappears, and focuses his youki. His reflection in the mirror shimmers as the image changes to show a different world, the Makai. Taking a deep breath, Kurama releases more youki and enters the mirror.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yuusuke was worried. It had been two weeks since anyone had heard anything from Kurama. A brief search of Kurama's apartment in the Ningenkai had showed nothing was amiss. Hiei had picked the lock and done a quick search and reported that the place was meticulously clean as usual. A visit from the Spirit Detective himself to Shiori's home had revealed that she had not heard from Kurama in several weeks; longer than the last time Yuusuke had heard from the redhead. A knock on the door distracted the Mazoku from his thoughts. "Enter," Yuusuke clearly stated.

A messenger bearing Yomi's colors and crest entered the room. "I have a message from Lord Yomi of Gandara," the youkai says, bowing and holding up a scroll to present to the Mazoku lord.

Yuusuke picks up the scroll and unties the silk rope that bound the scroll around the middle. The message was an invitation to a private gathering with Yomi in his palace in Gandara. In addition, there was the promise of helping Yuusuke find his missing advisor, Kurama. That piece of information made Yuusuke suspicious. He rolls the message back up and tosses it to Hiei, who catches it. "Read it and tell me what you think, Hiei," Yuusuke requests, ignoring the messenger.

As Hiei reads the message, he could not help getting a sense of foreboding, that Yomi had something to do with the redheaded fox's disappearance. "We should go," was his curt reply.

"Well, then," Yuusuke starts, turning back to the messenger, "there is your response. You may go." The messenger bows deeply before leaving the room, escorted by guards. "What do you make of that line about having information on Kurama?" Yuusuke asks, turning back to the ruby-eyed fire youkai.

"Suspicious. Kurama's disappearance was not released to the public," Hiei replies. "No doubt that infernal goat is involved."

Yuusuke nods. While he was not much of a ruler, he relied heavily on Kurama and Hiei's advice, and his gut instincts were solid. Right now, they were screaming that Yomi was involved in this mess and that the so-called private party was an excuse for the goat youkai to stir up trouble, potentially enough to disrupt the delicate balance of power that had once more settled into the Makai. "Yeah, and maybe we'll hear back from Koenma tomorrow. I asked him if he could give us information on youkai movements between the Ningenkai and Makai."

"Our spies should be returning from Gandara and Alaric tomorrow. Once we get some updated information, we can figure out what to do then," Hiei says, standing up. "I doubt this will end without a fight."

Yuusuke looks down at his watch, cursing. "Ack! Keiko's going to be mad again!" The lord tears off for his private chambers, where a private portal to the Ningenkai, specifically, Yuusuke's home that he now shares with Keiko, had been created by Koenma to allow his best Spirit Detective to easily move between the two worlds.

Hiei smirks, knowing that the Great Urameshi Yuusuke, Spirit Detective, Mazoku, and Lord of Torin, was more afraid of his own wife than any youkai in the Makai. The short fire youkai made his way to the tallest tower in the castle, lost in thought. 'Kurama, just what happened to you after you went back to the Ningenkai to visit that human mother of yours?' Once he reached the tower, he climbs out the window, standing on the very top of the conical roof. He pulls off his white bandanna, revealing his Jagan to the cool night air. Closing his ruby red eyes to concentrate, he once again made another cursory sweep of what he could of Gandara, hoping for a trace of the fox, any trace. Even a small youki signature would be enough for him to use to track down the former youko. 'Damn it, Kurama, where are you?'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At that moment, Kurama was lounging in his private garden in Yomi's castle. He turns his head to look at Yomi as he enters the garden after a meeting. "How is my pretty pet fox tonight?" the blind youkai asks, swooping down for a kiss, one that was eagerly returned by the kitsune.

"Wonderful. The moon is shining brightly, the evening is warm, and the breeze is gentle," the fox replies. Kurama's fingers reach for his neck, where a beautiful platinum pendant hung from a thin delicate chain. "And thank you for this beautiful gift, Yomi. It's breathtakingly beautiful."

Standing behind the redhead, Yomi's mouth twisted into a sinister smile. 'That pendant will keep you mine forever, Kurama.' Out loud, the goat says, "I'm glad you like it. Now, shall we go to bed?"

"Only if you have plans for something other than sleep," the youko purrs, eyes mischievously shining.

"You, love, are insatiable," Yomi says, pulling the sexy fox to his side.

To be continued . . .

AN: Well? What do you think? I thrive off of reviews, so don't hesitate to drop me one! And to all you Kurama x Hiei fans, don't worry, our fox isn't going to be stuck with Yomi forever. Like _I'd_ leave him with Yomi for long!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fanfiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Kurama x Hiei, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: Here's chapter 2! Enjoy!

Kitsunebi

Chapter 2

Hiei slowly walks back down the tower towards his room in Torin, worry etched in his face. As he covered his Jagan with his usual white bandanna, he mulled over what he knew surrounding the fox's disappearance. He had thought it was strange when the fox was not home about two weeks ago; his bedroom window had been locked and there was no signs of his youki anywhere. After picking the lock on the window, Hiei did a search of the small apartment. Nothing was out of place; it was impeccably clean as usual. Not a single item was misplaced. Lying down on his bed in his private quarters in Torin, Hiei knew it would be another long night, just like all the ones that came before.

For days after they realized Kurama was missing, Hiei would pace around the palace, going over every aspect of the kitsune's apartment, making sure he didn't miss anything. His temper grew shorter as his concern for the fox grew. Yuusuke's teasing that Hiei was going to wear a path in his halls was met with a glare that would kill, if looks could kill. At some point in the long and quiet night, Hiei fell into a light sleep, haunted by his questions regarding the fox's wellbeing.

The next morning, he wakes up to the knocking of a servant at his door notifying him to go to Yuusuke's private conference room. The fiery youkai enters the meeting room to see that Koenma had already called the palace. "Ah, Hiei, you're here. We can get started then," Koenma starts, shuffling through some papers on his crowded desk.

"What've you got, toddler?" Yuusuke asks, trying to lighten up the mood. Hiei's tense aura had not escaped his notice.

"No strange movements between the Makai and the Ningenkai according to the records of the past few weeks. No energy signals indicating an unauthorized portal had been opened during that time either. Says here Kurama last used his private portal around eight in the evening two weeks ago. No activity from it since either."

Hiei mulls over that new piece of information, frowning as he came to a conclusion. "He must be imprisoned somewhere. That stupid fox goes to the Ningenkai once a week to visit his mother."

"Anything else on Kurama's movements?" Yuusuke asks, "I know you have a file on all of us."

Koenma shifts uncomfortably in his chair. "I'm not supposed to-"

Hiei slams his fist onto the table, startling Koenma into silence. "To hell with your stupid Reikai rules! Just tell us what you have!" Yuusuke raised an eyebrow at Hiei's display of anger. It was rare for the fire youkai to show that much emotion at once, let alone for someone other than Yukina.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. We are not allowed to track his movements once he's out of our jurisdiction. If something happened, it happened in the Makai." Hiei clenches his fist, small streams of smoke coming from the wrappings. It only confirmed his theory that Yomi had to be involved in some way.

The half-Koorime takes a breath to calm himself before he spoke again. "Tomorrow night, at the party, we'll need to be careful. Yomi must be involved."

"We'll keep an eye out for Kurama should he return to the Ningenkai," Koenma says, "But I'm afraid that's all we can do from here."

As the screen shuts off, someone knocks on the door. Yuusuke cracks the door open to see one of the castle guards. "Lord Yuusuke, the latest report," a servant says, handing a scroll to Mazoku lord.

"Thank you," Yuusuke says, taking the scroll and unrolling it. Most of the information on the page was army movements. It was a small section near the end of the report that caught his attention. "Hiei, come here and read this. I think we've found Kurama."

Hiei was next to Yuusuke in the blink of an eye and his ruby eyes flew from side to side as Hiei read that section of the report. "No, this has to be wrong! He said he would stay away from that infernal goat, that he had turned him away!" Hiei storms off, nearly wrenching the door off its hinges in the process.

Yuusuke gives a small smile once Hiei was gone. It really was rare for the fire youkai to be showing that much emotion. 'I wonder . . .'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kurama rolls over as he wakes up to see Yomi sleeping next to him. Fingering the pendant and remembering the events of the prior night once the pair went to bed, he smiles. Looking at Yomi's peaceful sleeping face, the fox snuggles up closer to his lover. As he did so, he frowns as guilt suddenly sweeps over his body. His mind kept on screaming at him something was wrong, that this was not right. Fuzzy images formed in his mind, something vaguely resembling a short person wrapped in a black cloak with equally black hair that defied gravity and stood straight up. Kurama concentrates, trying to see if his mind could recall other details about this person, but none came to mind.

"What's the matter?" Yomi asks awakened by Kurama's snuggles. Kurama looks up with a smile on his face, all concerns gone now that he had his lover's complete attention. "Nightmare?"

"Nothing, just thinking back to the wonderful night we had earlier," Kurama replies, untangling himself from the goat youkai to stretch. Feeling something rub against his leg, he faces Yomi to give him a foxy grin. "Does someone want help with that?"

"Maybe," came the reply, "We should make this quick though. We need to make sure your clothes fit you for tomorrow's party."

"Whatever you say," Kurama says, turning the goat youkai on his back as he flips his bright red hair. Straddling him, the fox bends over, letting his crimson hair flow over his shoulders and onto Yomi's chest like fresh lava. "But I think you'll find that you won't want this to end any time soon," he whispers as he begins his ministrations.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ready, Hiei?" Yuusuke asks as he checks his pack again. "If we leave now, we will have half a day to check around Gandara for signs of Kurama."

"Hn," Hiei grunts, checking his katana. Hoisting a small pack over his shoulder, he walks towards the castle gates, clearly impatient to get going.

Yuusuke turns to Hokushin, who had his head bowed next to the door. "Hokushin, I'm leaving you in charge for now. Send me a message if you need anything or if you receive news regarding Kurama. I want to know immediately if we get any information from our spies in Gandara. Also, I want you to send a message to Kuwabara in the Ningenkai. Tell him to patrol 'that place'. He'll know where I mean."

Hokushin bowed low, "Yes my lord. I will see to it everything gets carried out."

To be continued . . .

AN: And that's it for this chapter! As usual, reviews make me write more!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fanfiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Kurama x Hiei, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: And heeeeeere's Chapter 3! I've opted to keep the traveling part to a minimum so we can get to the fun part. *wink*

Kitsunebi

Chapter 3

It took Yuusuke and Hiei until nightfall to reach the Gandara-Torin border. Hiei's Jagan was glowing brightly in the darkness as he searched for signs of enemies and Kurama. As before, Hiei could sense no signs of the fox. Walking to the nearest border patrol, the pair flared their youki signatures to allow the guards to know just who was approaching. As they check in through the border, they were given an escort of Yomi's Special Forces. After all, Yuusuke was the Lord of Torin and Hiei was Mukuro's ambassador.

The duo arrived with much fanfare the following morning as the entered the town. The man residents in the streets stared in awe as they got a once in a lifetime glance at the Lord of Torin and the Ambassador of Alaric. Rumors flew as awestruck youkai compared notes on what was and was not accurate. Hiei and Yuusuke simply walked through it all in silence each keeping their sense sharp for any signs of their missing comrade. Once inside the castle, they were both shown to their rooms in the guest quarters as a servant bowed out, telling them with great regret that Lord Yomi was occupied but would see to it that he is notified of their arrival.

Once settled in, Yuusuke enters Hiei's room. He enters to find the Jaganshi with his ruby eyes closed and the Jagan softly glowing. "Anything?"

"No. But something tells me Kurama's here. He has to be. Why the Jagan isn't finding him is a curiosity."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Hiei opted to go for a brief spar with Yuusuke before it was time to prepare for Yomi's party. As they were finishing, a gentle round of applause reached their ears. To the shock of the pair, it was none other than Kurama. While he was in his human form, the clothing he wore played his androgynous nature to the hilt. He wore a pair of translucent slacks with a red and black silk trim, along with a shirt of the same material with the same trim at the sleeves. A long green tunic, much like the ones Kurama favored in battle, covered the shirt and pants and a blood red sash completed the outfit.

"That was a beautiful display, my Lords," Kurama says, walking over. "I do hope one of you will be so kind as to be my sparring partner later tonight."

Yuusuke gave Hiei a look, and when the fire youkai returned the Mazoku lord's look with one of puzzlement, he says, "Kurama, so nice to see you again. You can drop the whole 'lord' business."

Kurama reacted with a puzzled look. "My lord, you react as though you know me. But I assure you, I am positive I have never met either one of you before in my life. I do find it quite strange that you know my name though. Have you perhaps talked to my betrothed, Lord Yomi, earlier?"

Hiei was stunned. How could Kurama forget about them? And worst of all, Yomi? As Kurama's betrothed? Hiei clenches his fist, in pure anger. If there was something Hiei knew, it was that Kurama loathed the goat youkai ever since the kitsune found out he was still alive. Something was not adding up in Hiei's mind, and so, he reached out the only way he knew how. _Fox, can you hear me?_

No response came. No change in expression, no flash of recognition in Kurama's eyes. Hiei stood there rooted to the ground. The telepathic bond the pair shared had been Kurama's idea shortly before they decided to steal the three treasures of the Reikai. "It would be more convenient and easier to coordinate ourselves if we didn't have to speak out loud," the redhead had stated at the time. After the heist and their capture, they had agreed that it might not be such a bad idea to be able to send telepathic messages to each other. It had proven to be invaluable over the years through their many trials as part of Yuusuke's team, and for Hiei to get no response simply left him bewildered.

_Fox, don't play dumb. I know you can hear me._ Once more, Hiei was met with silence. It was then that Hiei noticed something, something that he would have missed if he had not spent many years as a thief. An object was softly glowing underneath the kitsune's clothes, and unless the observer was either actively searching for it or had a particularly keen eye, would miss it.

"Lord Hiei is quiet person, isn't he?" the redhead asked, shaking Hiei out of his thoughts.

"That he is," Yuusuke replies, glancing over at Hiei. When Hiei gave a tiny shrug, Yuusuke decided to give Kurama one last test. Perhaps he was acting because Yomi had found Kurama's only weakness and was exploiting it again. "Oh, by the way, I sent a messenger along to let Kuwabara know to guard Shiori."

"Shiori? Who's that?" the redhead questions, utterly confused.

Hiei took that moment to speak up. "Thanks," Hiei says, covering Yuusuke's question with an answer. "If you would, please notify Lord Yomi that I, Lord Hiei, will be your sparring partner in the entertainment phase of tonight's feast."

"That will most certainly be my pleasure," Kurama replies. Just then, the castle clocks clanged, letting all who could hear it know that it was now five in the evening. "If you will excuse me, my lords, I must prepare for tonight's feast."

Once out of earshot, Yuusuke whirls to face Hiei. "Did you see how he reacted when I mentioned his human mother?"

"That's not the most disturbing part, detective," Hiei cryptically replies. "Come, we should get ready ourselves. Good thing I brought a spare set of clothes. Oh, and be ready to flee tonight after my sparring match with Kurama. If things go well, we will need to leave, and maybe prepare for war."

Yuusuke sent back a puzzled look. "What did you have in mind?"

"You'll see, detective, you'll see. But I assure you, you'll know when it happens."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Thank you, honored guests, for being here tonight," Yomi starts, raising his wine glass. He had been dressed in full ceremonial robes befitting a Makai lord. "Tonight, we are here to celebrate a wonderful occasion. After much persuasion, Kurama has finally conceded to being my mate. Now, before we begin, I have been told that my future mate here would like to have a sparring match with Lord Hiei, Ambassador of Alaric. Let us all go to the stadium to enjoy the match."

If Hiei was confused before, he was now downright furious. While he was unsure as to why he was so angry, he did know that Yomi had claimed his fox against his will, and he would be having none of that. That thought, though, stopped Hiei short. 'Since when did I think of Kurama as mine?'

As the party ventured over to the arena, Hiei caught Yuusuke's eye, and then sent his glance over towards Yomi. Yuusuke gave a small nod in acknowledgment. After all these years of working with the speedy fire youkai, Yuusuke had a guess as to what he had in mind and knew that if things went the way Hiei wanted them to, someone would have to hold Yomi off. The rest of the minor youkai lords and ladies present would present no real threat, but Yomi would certainly be a problem.

As the party settles into their seats, Yomi proclaims his rules for the match. "The rules for the match are as follows: Live weapons are allowed, but no killing. The match ends at one hour or if one of the fighters yields."

Hiei casts his cloak and scarf aside, revealing his usual blue tank top and black pants as Kurama steps into the ring in white pants, shirt, and tunic, all with lavender trim. A sash of the same shade of lavender completed the outfit. As Kurama pulls a rose out of his hair, Hiei wrenches off the bandanna on his Jagan and unsheathes his katana. The two get into a defensive stance, waiting for Yomi to give the signal.

Yomi stands in the audience, arm raised. "Begin!" he shouts as he drops his arm.

In an instant, Hiei had closed the distance to strike, and Kurama had dodged back and parried the blow with his whip. Trusting his instincts, Hiei trains his Jagan onto Kurama's mind only to find that the fox's mind was closed to him. The staccato of whip on stone, sword on whip, and sword on stone echoed through the arena. Appreciative gasps came at appropriate times, near misses, flashy dodges, impressive techniques. To Yuusuke, this was all normal; he had seen the pair spar before at Genkai's temple. Hiei, needing to keep up appearances, charges in for another strike, one that Kurama would barely dodge. A collective gasp from the audience was earned when Hiei's katana slashed through the tunic, revealing a large fox-shaped pendant around Kurama's neck. The pendant was glowing softly as Kurama deftly jumps back to land on the far side of the ring.

As Kurama checks himself to see if he was injured, Hiei smirks. He had figured out the truth, and Enma himself be damned if Hiei did not correct the problem. 'So that's how the infernal goat did it. Heh. This could be fun.'

To be continued . . .

AN: That's the end of Chapter 3. Reviews make me write more, so drop me one!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fanfiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Kurama x Hiei, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: Chapter 4, fresh off the keyboard! And please do leave me reviews. I really do love reading them!

Kitsunebi

Chapter 4

By his own mental count, Hiei had another twenty minutes to fix the problem with his fox, as it were, before Yomi called an end to the sparring match. The thing is, as Hiei had expected, landing that one blow had made Kurama fight far more defensively and it was now becoming rather difficult to get past the thorny whip. While Hiei had the speed advantage – that was something that was never in question – their years of sparring together had given Kurama an almost sixth sense when it came to Hiei and his attack patterns. Even if Kurama might not remember the petite fire youkai, his body and his subconscious certainly remembered the fire youkai's preferred attack angles. Their delicate dance continued for fifteen more minutes, neither fighter neither yielding nor gaining an advantage over the other, ignoring the audience that watched the graceful beauty of their sparring match with held breaths.

Pushing for an advantage, Hiei leaps back, tapping into his connection into the dark flame dragon sealed in his right arm. Flames erupted along the blade as Hiei charged in for one last desperate strike to end the match. Swinging his blade wide, the unexpected attack burned through the kitsune's whip, and as Kurama leaped backwards to dodge the blow, the pendant trailed in front of him. Hiei saw the world move in slow motion as his sword made contact with the chain, neatly cleaving off the pendant.

And then all hell broke loose.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mukuro, resting in a chair in her private garden, was calmly reading the latest report from her spies in Gandara when it happened. The "it", as it were, was a huge youki signal, filled with pure unbridled anger. The angry flare lit up the Makai skies, and while her castle was too far away to feel the immediate effects – she pitied the fool who unleashed such anger and got to deal with the consequences – her garden was close enough to feel the strong breeze that rippled out across the land. The flowers in her garden shook and released their petals, as though they were weeping for their one true master. There was only one being in the three worlds she was aware of that had such a strong affinity to plants. And knowing her ambassador and heir, he had just been found.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Koenma had been calmly monitoring the events in the Makai. While he had not been lying when he said he had no jurisdiction there, he did have surveillance. And he was not about to lose one of the crucial members of the team, especially when the presence of this one was what bound another to stay. So, he calmly watched, and when all hell broke loose, he called for Botan, and told her to open up a portal to Gandara in the Makai and retrieve the three demonic members of his team, and, just to cover her ass, granted her clearance to open portals as needed. There would be hell to pay – not to mention a mountain of paperwork justifying it - for opening the portal, but he figured it'd be well worth it since he'd actually still have a Reikai Tantei team afterwards.

An enormous stack of papers came by, as he hears the scramble bell for the ferry girls to go to work. The bell was typically rung for large scale catastrophes in the Ningenkai, but given the small glimpse of what he saw from his screen before he lost visual, this was as close to one as it ever got in the Makai.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Botan soars through the portal, scanning the ground below. Plants for miles around the arena where Hiei and Kurama had been dueling were overgrown, many spearing through huts and villages. Some had bodies hanging from them as the plant life around them violently exploded to life in response of their master's raw anger. A large explosion sent Botan careening as she looks ahead at the arena. Urging her oar to go faster, she silently prays to every deity she knew of that Yuusuke, Hiei, and, most of all, Kurama were safe.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yuusuke was aware of one and only one thing when the world slowed down as Hiei cut off Kurama's pendant. One, the two fighters were as still as a pair of statues as the pendant seemed to slowly fall to the ground. The sound of metal hitting stone echoed through the arena. At almost the same instant, the two fighters were shrouded in an unnatural mist as Kurama began to fall, unconscious. The next moment, youki exploded from the ring, one that Yuusuke usually associated more with calculated coldness than raw anger. And then, all hell broke loose as the plant life for miles around the arena responded to their master's fury. Just as sudden as time seemed to slow down and almost stop, it picked up again in full speed.

"Yuusuke, now!"

"REI GUN!" Yuusuke shouts, sending a truly enormous blast of mixed reiki and youki directly at Yomi. He caught a trace of Hiei's youki flitting away, with a second, much smaller one that felt like Kurama's next to him. Deciding now was the time to run and ask questions later, the detective made a dead run to follow.

Clearing the smoke of the explosion, Yuusuke looks around, expecting to see Kurama running next to Hiei. "Hiei, where's-" Yuusuke cuts himself off as a flash of silver fur catches his eyes.

"We need to get him some place safe. That pendant was responsible for everything. Even I'm not sure what the damage is at this point. If Kurama wasn't out cold right now, I'd be more than happy to kill the goat in the most torturous and painful manner possible."

"Yuusuke! Hiei!" The two lords glance up at the female voice shouting at them from above.

"Botan! Perfect timing," Yuusuke says, knowing exactly what to ask of the ferry girl. "Can you get us to the temple?"

"It'll break all the rules, but Koenma's granted me clearance." Within moments, the trio find themselves back in the Ningenkai, at the top of the steps of Genkai's temple. In the moments after the portal closes, Botan turns around. "Wait, where's Kurama? I felt his presence with you guys, but where is he?"

Hiei doesn't answer, but simply looks down into his arms. There, curled up into as small of a ball as possible, was Kurama. The kitsune was severely weakened, that much was for certain, but his state of mind was anyone's guess. Just why he took his animal form, the weakest of all of his three forms, nobody knew. Hiei, though, had a hunch, and, knowing Kurama, knew better than to share.

Of course, now that the adrenaline rush of the fight was wearing off, he wonders if he had done the right thing, whether Kurama had indeed cared for Yomi enough to be his mate and that for some reason, Kurama had wanted to forget about him, the Forbidden Child, and the rest of the group because he simply got bored and his youko half had decided that it was far more advantageous to be at Yomi's side than any other. 'But if that was the case,' a small voice in his head says, 'Kurama would not have spoken so hatefully regarding Yomi after they had reunited.' His thoughts, though, were roughly shoved aside as Yukina rushes out to greet them.

"Is-is that?" Yukina asks, looking from the ball of liquid mercury in Hiei's arms. A simple nod answered her question. Running over, she places her hands near the unconscious fox, only to find that there were no physical injuries, just that he had expended most of his energy and was now in a restful recharging sleep. "He's fine, just expended a lot of energy."

"You mean physically fine," Hiei snaps back. Hiei knew the approximate details of that pendant that Kurama was wearing around his neck. The swift fire youkai also knew that if you freed the wearer from its abilities in a sudden manner, it could cause mental damage, if the wearer was weak enough. In that heat of the moment decision, Hiei had not taken any of that into account, and now prayed to any god that would listen, but most of all, Inari, Kurama's patron god, that the fox he held in his arms had enough strength of will and personal mental defenses to be mostly fine after a sudden break. He sighs, suddenly wishing for Genkai's expertise. The occasionally cranky, but generally kind, master would have had an answer for him.

"What do you mean?" Yuusuke asks, surprised at Hiei's correction.

"You saw that necklace I cut off m-the fox," Hiei replies, catching himself. "It's a mind domination pendant. Given the way I removed it, it's liable to cause mental damage."

Yuusuke eyes harden in anger, his Mazoku tattoos flickering in and out of existence. Restraining himself, he punches the ground. "Damn it all! Damn that infernal goat!"

Hiei, while his ruby eyes never stopped almost glowing with fury, had a different concern. The only reason why Kurama would take that form would be to hide and did not want to be spoken to. Walking inside the temple, he asks Yukina to make a small den for the sleeping fox in the temple library. Hiei only prayed that there would be more information in the scrolls. In the absolute worst case scenario, Hiei figured he would have to ask Koenma for permission to speak to Genkai through Puu. While this was hardly the course of action Hiei would prefer, push comes to shove, he would rather owe the junior god a favor than to have Kurama forever locking himself in his fox form. This was going to be a long, long night, and he knew that over the course of the next few days, things were going to get worse before they got better. And maybe, just maybe, at the end of this whole mess, he would still have a partner.

To be continued . . .

AN: What do you think? I hope Hiei was in character enough; I always do have such a hard time writing for him. It's so hard to really know what he's thinking since he says so little that I don't really feel like I have much to go on. Remember, reviews make me happy, so drop me one!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fanfiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Kurama x Hiei, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: Not a whole lot to say, other than time for a little angsty goodness. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave me a review afterwards!

Kitsunebi

Chapter 5

Hiei scans through the scrolls in the section on mind control, hoping to glean some sort of information from them. Most, unfortunately, were on how one could acquire the ability or how it worked. Only one scroll told of mind control through an object, but it told him little of what he did not already know. Another mentioned that told of theories of using a Jagan to undo such a spell, but without it listing the results of an actual attempt, Hiei decided against trying it. What if he did more harm than good? At some point late in the evening, the fire youkai started pacing the room, wracking his brain for ideas. He barely noticed the presence of an additional member in the room until he nearly ran into a figure in a blue tunic. "What are you doing here? If I wanted your help in the matter, I would have consulted you."

"Just concerned for a friend, Hiei," Koenma calmly replies. "I saw what happened down there today. Quite a mess it made on our end too. Kurama's sudden burst of youki demolished several villages, including the capitol of Gandara. We finished dealing with the deaths just now."

If Hiei was surprised at the amount of power the youko truly wielded, nothing in his expression betrayed it. "Hn. As you can see, the fox is sleeping it off."

Koenma's glance at the table told him why the fire youkai was not sleeping tonight. "I'll have Botan bring you some scrolls in the morning. The Reikai has a more complete library available than Genkai's collection. And if you need Genkai, have Yuusuke contact us. I'm sure we can get her to give you a hand."

Hiei grunts in reply. So that's what the junior god came to tell him. Sighing for now, and figuring he could get a few hours of sleep until dawn, Hiei waves Koenma off as to dismiss him before sitting down on the wooden floor in his customary position next to the sleeping silver fox. Unsure whether Yomi would send enemies to pursue them, Hiei falls into a light sleep, ready to attack any unwanted guests at a moment's notice.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, Hiei awakens to a sharp cry of pain. Springing up from his position, katana at the ready, he blinks for a few moments to find that Kurama had been awake and was biting Botan's hand. Blood was dripping past the silvered muzzle to the floor. No doubt she had tried to pet him after dropping off the scrolls Koenma had offered.

"Hiei, what's wrong with Kurama? Why'd he bite me?" Botan asks, wincing in pain.

"Instinct," Hiei replies before bending over to pry Kurama's jaws from the ferry girl's hand. Seeing her puzzled and pained look, he clarifies. "Right now, given the way I'd broken the mind control spell Yomi had put on him, he probably has no idea who we are or where he is. It would not be wise to approach him right now."

Botan could see a flicker of emotion flash through his ruby eyes when the fire youkai mentioned the spell. 'Guilt? That's new.' After a few more moments, and many angry threats on Hiei's part, Botan's hand was finally pulled free. "I had no idea he could bite that hard," she comments, healing her hand.

"Be glad there weren't any plants in this room. Be grateful that Kurama's not in a humanoid form."

The ferry girl laughs nervously as she recalls the various plants the kitsune had used to do his bidding in the past. "I'll . . . keep that in mind."

Hiei, though, was paying her no attention as he dove into the scrolls. While many were on spells, one scroll on items of mind control in particular caught his attention. Scanning the description it presented, it just might have what he needed to bring Kurama back to normal. Skimming through the parts that presented no new information, the fire youkai made a mental note of two major points. First, the victim must be asleep in order for this to work, and second, the one doing the fixing had to be extremely skilled and careful, as one wrong step could lead to the victim being eternally unresponsive. He also made note of the fact that the amnesia was not actually amnesia, but a side effect of the spell suppressing certain memories at the caster's wishes. 'So that's why he didn't me or Yuusuke when we met him in Gandara.' Hiei clenches his fist. 'When I'm through here, Yomi's going to wish he never kept _my_ fox captive in the first place!' He stops himself at his sudden possessiveness, but, chalking it up to fatigue, continues scanning the scroll.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yuusuke wakes up later that day to find Hiei still in Genkai's library, almost buried by the sheer volume of scrolls surrounding him. "Find anything?"

"Yes. But to be safe, I want to talk to Genkai," Hiei answers, not bothering to look up. He mutters something under his breath as he reads what Yuusuke assumed to be a particularly interesting section.

"How's Kurama?"

"Awake." Walking towards Hiei's right at the table, Yuusuke was met with a surprising sight. Kurama was curled up on the table, to Hiei's left, while Hiei was absentmindedly petting the fox.

"Uhhh, didn't Botan get bitten for trying to do that this morning?"

"I brought him a rabbit. He seemed to appreciate that well enough."

"Have you tried talking to him yet?"

"No. Don't think he even knows he's sentient." A confused silence settles in as Hiei continues reading.

"Well, if you're not going to explain, let me call up Koenma and see if he'd be willing to do us a favor," Yuusuke says, shrugging as he pulls out the compact.

"Yuusuke! Did something happen?" came Botan's concerned voice over the compact,

"No, actually, Hiei wants to talk to the old hag about Kurama. Think pacifier breath can hook us up?"

"You really ought to give them both more respect," Botan nags, "but I'll talk to Koenma and see what he can do."

A click echoes through the room as Yuusuke closes the compact. Next to Hiei, Kurama stirs, waking up and stretching each of his limbs and tails. Sensing Yuusuke, he drops into a defensive position, growling as he prepares to pounce on the much larger Spirit Detective.

What happened next will forever be one of Yuusuke's fondest memories of the pair, even given the circumstances. Yuusuke, hoping to establish himself as a friend to the now decidedly animalistic kitsune, smiles and reaches over to let the fox sniff his hand. However, what the Spirit Detective did _not_ know was that by smiling and showing his teeth, he had effectively done the equivalent of baring his teeth and was now reaching out to attack. So Kurama did what he did best, he pounces the Mazoku, hell bent on killing his attacker before it dealt him any harm. What the silver fox had _not_ accounted for, though, was Hiei's greater speed and peripheral vision. The fox had barely leapt over the scroll Hiei was reading before Hiei's left hand had reached over and grabbed the surprised fox out of the air by the nape of his neck. All without even so much as a glance upward to track the kitsune.

Looking up from his scroll to glare at the silver fox, he says, "No, Kurama, Yuusuke's not lunch. I already gave you lunch. You'll get another rabbit for dinner." Kurama's response was to flatten his cute fox ears against his skull and hiss in protest and humiliation. Hiei barely flinches. "Don't hiss at me, fox. You brought this one on yourself."

Yuusuke, to his credit, had tried really hard to not laugh, but the hiss pushed him over the edge as he bursts out laughing at Hiei scowling at an equally annoyed Kurama. The anxiety that had been building up inside of the Mazoku melts away as the library is filled with the sound of Yuusuke's amusement.

At that very moment, the door between the library and the courtyard opens. Puu sticks his head in, but the facial expression was not the Spirit Beast's normal happy cheerful one. "And just what is so funny, dimwit?"

It took another five minutes before Yuusuke could stop laughing long enough to explain what had happened, and a few more after as Genkai had to agree that, despite the circumstances, it was quite funny. Kurama, on the other hand, must have figured out what was happening, as he indignantly sat there, tails fanned out behind him with what could only be described as a vulpine scowl on his little fox face.

"Now, then, what did you want to talk about?"

At this Yuusuke turned serious. "That," he starts, jerking his thumb at Kurama, "_is_ the problem. Ever since we bailed him out of Yomi's filthy hands, he's been in this form. If he didn't have all those tails, I'd say he was a normal fox."

"Ah, yes, so, tell me, just what did that rescue entail?" Hiei opted to keep it short, but gave Genkai a full description of the pendant. "Hmmm," Genkai starts, deep in thought. "Your Jagan might be enough to fix it Hiei. But you'll have to be careful. All of Kurama's memories are suppressed right now, by my guess, and since you took the liberty of breaking it like that, we have no means to ease him back into sentience."

Hiei sighs, looking down at his hands. A decade. That was how long he had had the Jagan implant. Sure, he talked big and acted like he was its master, but, now that it truly matters, was he? Had he, in the process of mastering the Kokuryuuha, mastered the full powers of the Jagan?

Genkai's voice broke through Hiei's thoughts, "When does he sleep? It's easiest to enter a mind while its owner is sleeping."

"After dinner," Hiei slowly says, looking at the silver fox. He was nearly hyperventilating from the pressure he was putting on himself. Kurama pokes his nuzzle over to Hiei's hands, as though to comfort the fire youkai, and to give him a vote of confidence.

"Then that's when we'll start. Have the dimwit here contact me when you do. I know what to look for if something goes wrong. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make arrangements with Koenma."

With that, Puu's face returned to its normal cheerful self. As Yuusuke walks over to the Spirit Beast, he caught a look of uncertainty on Hiei's face. "It'll be alright, Hiei. We'll get Kurama back to normal."

"Hn," came the usual reply. But Yuusuke did not miss that it had none of the usual confidence behind it.

To be continued . . .

AN: I hope Hiei and Kurama weren't _too_ OOC in this chapter. And as I said before, review! I love reading what you guys think.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

Chapter specific warning: Non-Con in progress near the end of the chapter. Nothing explicit, but consider yourself warned.

AN: Thanks for the few reviews you guys have written thus far; I really do appreciate and enjoy reading them. I love knowing that people are enjoying what I write. And I've just realized that while I'd intended for this to originally to be Kurama x Hiei (aka Kurama on top) I seem to be writing this for, well, Hiei on top. That said tags from this chapter on have been changed appropriately. Also, this is easily the hardest chapter for me to write so far, but bear with me, things will get better soon!

Kitsunebi

Chapter 6

Hiei exhales, feeling the cooling air of the late afternoon. He had spent the past few hours meditating to prepare himself for the task that lay ahead that evening: Entering Kurama's mind to free him from whatever after effects remained from Yomi's mind control pendant. Failure, Hiei knew, was not an option. Not after the times youko had saved him in the past. Not after the times the fox had patched him up throughout the years. And most certainly not after the friendship the fox had so freely offered him after their first meeting, bringing him to his current position of Jaganshi Hiei, Master of the Kokuryuuha, Ambassador of Alaric, and Mukuro's heir. He owed Kurama that much, even if the fire youkai was sure the fox would never want to be more than a friend. Taking a deep breath, the Jaganshi notices that Kurama was curled up next to him, asleep, if the gentle ups and downs of the fox's body were any indication.

"Time to get you dinner," Hiei mumbles, stretching his arms and legs. Silently, the half-Koorime opens the screen door to the courtyard outside and flits off into the late afternoon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kuwabara had heard from Yuusuke what had happened to Kurama the day before. Relieved that the fourth member of their team had been found, Kuwabara took it upon himself to visit the temple especially after hearing from Yuusuke what the plan was to restore their now distinctly foxier friend. "Oi, Urameshi, you sure Hiei won't screw this up?"

"Can't say for sure, but Genkai couldn't be too far off, even if she is dead," Yuusuke replies, his voice getting softer and sadder as he is once again reminded that his late master had passed away from old age a few years earlier. "I doubt she's _that_ desperate for company."

"So, what's Kurama like right now?"

"Like a wild fox," Yuusuke starts, "but get this: He's tried to bite anyone who pets him, except Hiei. First time I tried, he tried to rip my throat out, except Hiei snatched him out of the air. You should've seen Kurama hissing at Hiei, it was hilarious!" Yuusuke bursts out laughing at the recollection.

Kuwabara joins in, imagining what that would have looked like. "What're the odds Yomi will come for Kurama?"

"Doubt he'll be coming; Kurama did a number on his capital when we bailed him out." The pair fell silent as they both silently wished to all the gods they knew of that Yomi would not come for their friend until he was fully recovered. While they had their doubts as to how much that small prayer would affect things, it still made them feel marginally better about the whole situation.

Fifteen minutes later, the two friends enter the temple grounds. After greeting Yukina, Kuwabara had to be reminded that Hiei was around before he made too much of a fool of himself, the two found Kurama sitting in the courtyard, carefully stalking a rabbit Hiei had brought back.

"So that's Kurama?" Kuwabara quietly asks, not wishing to startle Kurama's soon-to-be-dinner. Kurama pounces towards the rabbit, but at the last minute, the rodent ran several yards to the right, prolonging its life by a few more minutes.

"Hn," came the response. In a few moments, the hunt was over as the rabbit was neatly strangled by a piece of grass. As Kurama heartily dug into his meal, Kuwabara had to turn away as he felt his face turn green and the urge to vomit rising. "Stupid human. If you're going to puke, do it on the Detective."

"Gee, thanks Hiei," Yuusuke mumbles. Noticing that Kurama was mostly finished with his meal and was now neatly licking his chops clean of blood – Yuusuke could not help but notice that, even as an animal, his youko friend was still neat and clean as ever – he asks, "Want me to call Botan now?"

"Let's not waste anymore time," Hiei replies. Kurama was now walking back towards the library, where there was a soft fox-patterned cushion in a corner that he currently called his bed.

Yuusuke pulls out his communicator, and quickly gets Botan on the other end. "Hey, can you get the toddler to get Genkai to talk to us through Puu again? Hiei's going to go mind diving into Kurama's head in a few." An affirmative response was heard from the communicator as Yuusuke and Kuwabara head inside.

A few moments later, the three were greeted by Genkai's voice. "So, it's time. Alright, Hiei, you know what to do. You two dimwits," she says moving her head in Kuwabara and Yuusuke's direction, "go outside and make sure Hiei's not disturbed. We may lose them both for good if Hiei gets interrupted."

"Hn." Hiei sits down in front of his napping fox and pulls off the bandanna. Closing his real eyes, the fire youkai focuses his youki into the Jagan and then turns it onto Kurama.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiei opens his eyes into total darkness. Remembering where he was, he carefully checks himself. 'Seems alright so far. Can't see much of anything, though.' After wandering around for a few steps, the fire youkai catches a glimpse of light in the distance. Flitting straight for the light, Hiei carefully touches it to find himself engulfed in the bright light.

The first thing Hiei notices upon reopening his eyes was that he was now in a maze of some sort. Upon closer inspection, Hiei notices that the walls were made of stone and were covered by some sort of thick ivy. Thinking of trying a fast way to get to the end, Hiei jumps up, intending to land on the top of the wall. To his surprise, the walls grew with him, regardless of how high he jumped. Realizing that he had no choice but to navigate the labyrinth, the fire youkai begins to walk forward one step at a time.

A few moments later, Hiei finds himself at a literal crossroads. Wary of the walls of the maze, the fire youkai closes his eyes and concentrates, letting his familiarity with the youko guide his intuition. Left, it told him. A few hundred yards later, another fork in the path. Go right, his intuition said. Another right followed, then a left, then another left, until many turns later, Hiei had lost track, and was left with no choice but to press onward.

A myriad of turns later, Hiei hears a commanding voice drifting towards him. Concentrating on the voice, the fire youkai identified it as none other than Yomi's. Relying on his intuition once more, Hiei makes the final few turns to exit the labyrinth. What he saw, though, truly stunned him.

A large frozen lake lay before him, surrounded by trees and grass. A wooden bridge with red railings was in the background, connecting the two sides of the lake. Looking behind him, Hiei notices the exit of the labyrinth he had been navigating mere moments ago had disappeared, replaced by trees. While there was no obvious source of light, it was clear to the fire youkai that the lake itself glowed, shedding a bluish white light all around the area. But it was what was going on at the lake that made his blood boil.

Yomi stood at the center, naked, with a hand in Youko Kurama's long silver tresses, no doubt, as Hiei concluded, intending to force the beautiful creature to pleasure him. Kurama's redheaded human form lay battered and unconscious several feet behind the youko; the wounds consistent with being blasted by the powers Yomi was so famous for. But that, Hiei realized, was to be expected. There was no doubt that Yomi had wanted the half-youko, and even reincarnated, Kurama was beautiful as ever. What made Hiei sick to his stomach, though, was the cold realization that behind Yomi were a dozen crystals and half a dozen bodies. Upon closer inspection, Hiei could make out just who was inside the crystals: Shiori, Kido, Kaito, Yanagisawa, Keiko, Botan, Koenma, Shizuru, Genkai, Kuwabara, Yuusuke, and himself, Hiei. The bodies, Hiei identified as: Shishiwakamaru, Rinku, Jin, Touya, Chuu, and Suzuki. All six youkai were laying in a pool of their own blood.

As the fire youkai digests that piece of information, he realized they were the very people that the youko had come to care for during his twenty years of exile in the Ningenkai. Realizing that mind-Yomi, as Hiei now dubbed him, was too wrapped up in getting pleasure from the silver youko, he flits closer to better listen to what mind-Yomi was saying.

"Now, now, Kurama, I've already killed six of your friends, do you want me to kill another to prove my point? Who shall it be?" Mind-Yomi swings his right arm backwards, as though to randomly aim at a target. Even though the Makai lord was blind, his ability to sense ki was more than sharp enough to compensate. "One of the humans? One of your comrades?"

"P-please, not them, I will do as you say, just leave them be." Hiei almost did not recognize the voice that came from the youko. He was so used to hearing that voice filled with calculating coldness and arrogance that it seemed completely wrong for it to be so filled with defeat.

"Well then," mind-Yomi replies, jerking on the hair to pull Kurama's mouth towards himself, "you know what to do. And no biting, or I kill more of your so-called friends." Kurama hesitates a moment to ready himself, but mind-Yomi misreads that and sends a massive ki blast towards mind-Hiei's crystal. It shatters, dropping the petite fire youkai's body to the ground with a thud. Blood slowly begins to leave the still corpse. There was no doubt in Hiei's mind as he watched the display, that mind-Hiei was dead. What he did not predict, though, was Kurama's reaction.

"No, no, no, not Hiei!" the youko practically sobs, tears flowing freely now. Eyes wide in shock, Kurama mumbles, "I did not get the chance to tell him I-"

"You hesitated," the goat youkai coldly interrupts. "Now be a good little youko whore and do what I tell you to, or I'll target one of the others this time, like that human mother you treasure so dearly."

"Please, no, not her too," Kurama begs, broken. He closes his eyes and opens his mouth, seeing no other choice to keep the people he called his friends and family alive.

Hiei, though, had seen more than enough and had no other desire than to put down the goat youkai once and for all. Seeing Kurama broken and degraded in such a manner had made the little fire youkai angrier than he had ever been, even angrier than seeing the horrid conditions Tarukane had kept Yukina. He strode out onto the lake – which was surprisingly not slippery for it being an ice lake, maybe it was crystal after all, his mind mused – katana in his right hand, fire burning brightly on his left, Jagan wide open.

"Turn around you bastard," Hiei growls to mind-Yomi. "I'm not quite dead yet."

Kurama, recognizing the voice, can only stare in wide-eyed awe as he sees a very angry Hiei standing behind mind-Yomi. Mind-Yomi, seeing that the little fire youkai was very much not dead and extremely angry, kicks the silver youko aside, where he lands next to his human body.

"Do not interfere," the goat youkai responds, flaring his ki.

"Kurama," Hiei says to the youko, "this is for you. I'll see you out in the real world." With that, Hiei charges towards the goat youkai faster than he had ever moved, and slices mind-Yomi in half before setting him on fire.

To be continued . . .


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: To my reviewers thus far: Thank you for your kind words and love. You have no idea how happy it makes me to know that people enjoy reading the crazy ideas that come out of my head. And I promise you, there will be a Yomi beat down in the near future.

Kitsunebi

Chapter 7

Several hours passed at the temple before anything happened. After the first hour of relative calm, Yuusuke and Kuwabara decided to take a seat next to Puu, who was channeling Genkai's spirit, and catch up with the old master. Yuusuke would never openly admit it, of course, but he missed her and loved her like the grandmother he never had. She had taught him discipline, taught him what it meant to fight, and most importantly, value what he had. After a while, and checking with Koenma that there was no activity through any of the portals, Genkai even got Yuusuke and Kuwabara to do a little training together.

A flare of Kurama's youki told them something was happening, as all three sets of eyes focused on the pair. Hiei's eye suddenly snap open as his head is thrown back, as though he had been punched in the face, as Kurama's fox form begins to glow bright white. The body enlarges as distinctly humanoid features form: arms, legs, and torso; the light dissipates, revealing Kurama's youko form. His eyes fly open, and upon seeing the other three Reikai Tantei so close to him, he leaps for the courtyard, vaulting over Puu's larger body, Rose Whip in hand. Yuusuke and Kuwabara make a move to say something, but are stopped when Hiei holds out his sealed right arm to stop them.

_Kurama, relax_, Hiei says through their mind link, sending soothing emotions through in the process. _It's ok. You're at the temple in the Ningenkai._

Kurama drops to his knees as Hiei's voice triggers a rush of memories. His attempt on Yomi's life, only to discover later that the assassin had only succeeded in blinding the goat youkai. His partnership with Kuronue, only to have the bat youkai die in a trap a few years later. His own brush with death, and his rebirth as Minamino Shuuichi, the perfect son every mother wishes she could have. His first meeting with Hiei, resulting in his current friendship – or was there something more? – with him. His mother's illness, leading to him steal the Forlorn Hope, and meeting Yuusuke. His fight against Genbu of the Four Saint Beasts, his first assignment as part of his parole. The Dark Tournament and the struggles that came as they fought for their lives in the ring, and his reclamation of his youko form. His meeting with Kaito, his classmate at school, in his territory just prior to their next case with Sensui. His return to the Makai as the result of Yomi's insistence and manipulation. The Makai Tournament, his first show of open defiance against Yomi.

And then came the newest set of memories, the result of the latest set of threats from Yomi. The message from the sphere. The idle threat against his mother and his human family, whom Koenma had said protection was granted to. The strong sleeping powder in his food, which Kurama had not detected until it was too late, and he was on the verge of collapse. Him waking up to find that yes, he did return Yomi's affections. Him screaming in his head that no matter what a small part of him said, that he was repulsed by the goat youkai, he could not help but do what was asked of him. And the last thing he recalls: fighting Hiei, losing the necklace, and the ensuing nightmare in his mind.

Kurama clutches his head in neatly manicured hands as memories flood back. Overwhelmed, the kitsune faints into Hiei's arms as he reverts back to his human form.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiei carefully lays the unconscious form onto the futon Yukina had spread out for Kurama. Red hair fans out behind the sleeping redhead like a red halo of temptation; Hiei had found that the hair was as soft and silky as the fur of the youko's fox form. It was then that Hiei realized that Youko Kurama truly was the best thief in all of the Makai, past, present and future; that the legends were true. He had done what no other being, male, female, youkai, human, or god could ever hope to do. He had stolen the one thing the Forbidden Child himself had locked away underneath miles and miles of frozen mental walls to ensure nothing could ever reach and for years denied its very existence. His heart.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kurama slowly awakens to the gentle chirping of birds outside. Opening his eyes, he recognizes the aging beams of the temple roof. His eyes sweep around the room, landing on a certain half-Koorime's sleeping form in the corner. Hiei was sitting upright, one leg up, with the other stretched out, katana hilt resting on his left shoulder while the tip of the sheath was planted between his legs. His left arm rested on the katana, keeping it in place while his head rested on the hilt as he slept. What surprised Kurama, though, was that the Jagan was wide open and gently glowing, clearly pointed at the sleeping fox.

Hiei stirs as the Jagan told him the fox had woken up, and after a few blinks, ruby met emerald for the first time in many days. "Sleep well, Fox?"

"Yes," Kurama answers, thinking. "Thank you."

"Hn. Don't mention it," Hiei replies, brushing off the fox's gratitude.

Kurama sits up, hands clenching the blankets that had kept him warm through the night. "Don't tell Yuusuke and the others about what you saw in my head," he quietly requests as he hung his head and shut his eyes to prevent the tears that were building. He was, if nothing else, ashamed of what Hiei had seen. Youko Kurama, supposedly the greatest and most bastardly thief in all of the Makai, reduced to a broken sobbing mess and humiliated.

Try as he might, tears of anger and frustration started rolling down perfectly sculpted cheeks and onto his hands. It only fueled his frustration, as his body began to bend over into wracking sobs as he felt the emotional turmoil wash away. After the first few, a strong set of arms pulls the conflicted fox towards a warm chest, soothing hands running up and down the fox's back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiei could only hope that he was doing the right thing when he rubbed up and down the fox's back as he had seen the others do in the past. And when the kitsune noticeably relaxed, Hiei gently released a breath he had barely realized he had been holding. Minutes seemed to crawl by as Kurama's sobs continued, and in some part of Hiei's mind, he wished that he could continue holding the fox, and that the gentle embrace could have been under better circumstances.

Quiet footsteps echo down the hallway, and as Hiei looks up, he sees Yukina quietly slide the old screen door open with two trays of food next to her. As she brought in the food, she gently asks, "How is he?"

Looking down, Hiei notices that Kurama had fallen asleep once more, although this time, unlike the tortured sleep that threatened to wake him earlier had Hiei not used his Jagan to block the nightmares; it was a quiet restful sleep. "Better now, I think."

A look of relief washes over her face. "I'll come by for the trays when I bring in lunch. I'll see to it you're not disturbed."

Hiei could only answer her with a look of pure gratitude. In that one moment of understanding, Hiei almost wished the circumstances of his Jagan implant were different, that Shigure had not forced the fire youkai into secrecy regarding his relation to Yukina. Whether the look caught Yukina off guard, she did not comment on. She only replied with her pure smile, pure and clear as freshly fallen snow.

'Something must be wrong with me,' Hiei thinks to himself as he contentedly watches Kurama sleep. 'So beautiful. I don't deserve such a beautiful gift.' Acting on impulse, Hiei bends ever closer to the redhead's soft lips, wanting nothing more than to kiss them, and suck the pain away.

Millimeter by millimeter, Hiei closes in, and he would have gotten his wish, if Kurama did not stir. Hiei instantly pulls his face back, not wanting to startle the fox into something he was not prepared for. Seeing the compromising position he had put Hiei in, the fox pulled away from the fire youkai, a soft blush gracing his cheeks. "S-sorry," he mumbles.

Closing his eyes to recompose himself, Hiei only answers, "Yukina brought us breakfast." Standing up, Hiei brings one of the trays closer. Realizing the food was now cold, he uses a little youki to use his hands to warm the food back up before bringing it to the fox. "I just warmed your breakfast back up for you. Eat."

Looking down at the tray, which consisted of miso soup, grilled fish, rice, and an egg, Kurama's stomach growls, and after the first bite, heartily digs into the meal. Hiei spares the fox a small gentle smile of relief before going to warm up his own breakfast.

To be continued . . .

AN: For all the times I said that I find Hiei to be almost impossible to write for, I find myself drawn more and more to writing this from his perspective as opposed to Kurama's. I know it may seem strange that Hiei's the one who's putting the moves on Kurama (I'm well aware that for the most part, the fandom seems to have Kurama being the one who does most of the initiating) but I have a hard time believing that spending all that time with Kurama didn't change Hiei in some way. I'd like to believe that, if nothing else, Hiei's softened up a little on the inside, and just doesn't really want the rest of the world to know. As usual, drop me a review; they make me insanely happy.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: Don't worry, we'll get back to the action soon enough. I know several of you have expressed an interest in seeing Yomi get his comeuppance. I assure you, it's coming. I only hope that when we get to it, you guys will like it. In the meantime, a little more exposition: just think of it as the calm before the storm.

Kitsunebi

Chapter 8

The rest of the day went by smoothly, once Yuusuke and Kuwabara had learned that Kurama was once more in the realm of the conscious, it was almost impossible to keep the two away from his room. And of course, such good news was impossible to keep from Botan, who had called in once an hour throughout the prior day, so it did not take long for her to show up at the temple, along with a message from Koenma wishing Kurama well. So, with a note of mild annoyance on Hiei's part and appreciative smiles on Kurama's part, they were now seated in the room – except for Hiei, who was standing by the wall - figuring out what their next move should be.

"I know what your question is," Kurama starts, preempting the others, "but first, I owe Botan an apology." Catching Botan's look of confusion, he continues. "I am aware that I may have attacked you a few days ago while I was in my fox form. I did not mean to harm you, but given my state of mind, I saw almost everything as a potential threat. While it is not much of an excuse, please know that you have my most sincere apologies."

The other three men in the room inwardly groaned with relief and exasperation. They knew that Kurama must be well on his way to recovery if he could give such an eloquent and wordy apology. Hiei, though, could not resist sending the snarky comment that had bubbled up in his mind as he heard the fox apologize. _And you wonder why you get courted by humans of both genders._

"Oh!" the ferry girl exclaims, mildly embarrassed at the lengthy apology, "Don't worry about it. I healed myself; it's all better."

"Now then, back to business," the fox says, "I know you want to know what happened. To be honest, I remember very little of it myself. But let me start from the beginning.

"About two and a half weeks ago, Yomi sent me a messenger with a message sphere. In it, he was asking me to return to Gandara to be his advisor once more; that, now the Makai Tournament has proven – as he had suspected – to be an unreliable means of choosing a new leader, he was going to do it himself. And that he needed my help for it. My first reaction was, of course, to turn him down. But then he proceeded to threaten my human family, even mentioning that he knew of where they were and could most certainly kill them even though Koenma had granted them protection. He even went so far as to introduce himself to my mother earlier that evening while I was out, just to prove a point. I had no choice but to go and see Yomi, intending to tell him that enough was enough and that if it came to blows between us, so be it. It would not have been the first time that had happened.

"When I arrived, though, Yomi had decidedly different plans in mind, insisting that we eat before we got to the meat of the discussion. I was a bit distracted, expecting him to ambush me; he even made a show of eating and drinking everything first just to prove it was not poisoned. What I had not counted on, though, was that he had gone so far as to build up a physical tolerance to Sleeping Angel pollen to get me. I did not know it was in my food before it was too late. But by then, I was far too deep in the influence of the pollen to keep myself from collapsing.

"When I came to, I was weak; Sleeping Angel pollen weakens the victim first by making them sleepy, but it compounds its effect by also draining the target of their ki." Here Kurama pauses, not wanting to voice what came next. Taking a deep breath, he continues, unable to keep his bitterness, his hatred, from his voice. "That was when Yomi put that accursed necklace on me. It bent me to his will, and no matter how hard I tried to resist, my body just went along."

As though to signify that was all there was to say, Kurama looks up, eyes betraying none of his emotion. "I guess I should thank you, Hiei for cutting that damned thing off of me. Who knows what would have happened otherwise?"

The words hung in the air as silence fills the room. After a few moments, Yukina enters the room, but from the stiff manner she was standing, all four men knew something was wrong. A long blade agonizingly extends over her throat from a hand belonging to an unknown visitor, and as she looks down at it, there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Hiei growls, already crouched into an offensive position, ready to launch himself and the perpetrator.

"I have a message for you from my master. He says that you are to return his," here, the messenger stops maximum effect, "betrothed to him, or he will start a war for supremacy in the Makai. A war that he will most certainly-" The messenger was suddenly cut off as his arm fell limp to his side. Hiei wastes no time in snatching Yukina away as the body fell dead to the ground, revealing a characteristic yellow beam. Emerald and chocolate eyes trace the beam back to Kuwabara, who had taken advantage of the messenger's inability to see to quietly manipulate his Reiken around the room.

Kurama's eyes contained traces of gold as they coldly narrow. "Clearly, it is time I put an end to this farce."

"Fox, you're not going there alone," Hiei starts.

"It is my business and mine alone," Kurama's voice was cold as ever, and left no room for argument. "None of you have anything to do with the grudge between him and me. Therefore, none of you have any say in the matter."

"You forget, Kurama," Yuusuke good naturedly says, "that I am now ruler to a quarter of the Makai, and Hiei heir to another quarter. I'd say we have plenty of say in the matter."

Botan, who had remained silent, speaks up, "Let me go talk to Koenma about transportation, get you guys in closer to the castle." With that, the ferry girl opens a portal for herself and disappears.

"After what happened last time, I'm not letting you go back in there alone," Kuwabara answers, fully expecting the fox to concede.

Kurama, though, was not happy with this turn of events, and his already frayed nerves from knowing what he had almost done, and having that truth be revealed in such a manner, made him snap. "Just because I made one small mistake the last time I paid Yomi a visit does _not_ mean I need babysitters for the next one!" he shouts, eyes flickering between emerald and gold. Realizing what he had just done, Kurama stands, walking towards the door. In a far softer and more neutral, but still tense voice, he says, "I need some air," and leaves the room.

Yuusuke and Kuwabara move to chase after the fox, but Hiei flits in the doorway, blocking them. "Leave him be. Just give him a moment. He needs time."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kurama regretted the words that came out of his mouth mere milliseconds afterward. He recognized that his friends were simply concerned for his wellbeing and wished nothing more than to back him up on what could potentially be a fatal encounter with Yomi. As the fox wanders further and further away from the temple, memories began to surface, ones that he thought he had long buried in his heart, along with the brutal coldness that Youko Kurama was known for. Yomi. Back when they first met, Youko Kurama struck fear in no being's heart. They were just a ragtag group of thieves itching to make it big, to become famous, feared, and renowned. Between Yomi's fighting abilities and Kurama's talent for breaking seals and picking locks, they were well on their way.

They were inseparable then. Best of friends, some would say. Lovers? The interest was most certainly there, Yomi had tried more than a few times to get the fox into bed with him, but Kurama was hesitant to turn his "business" partner into something more. But one night, Yomi had finally had enough, and confessed his feelings for the fox. And Youko Kurama, being the cold, calculating bastard that he was, solidly turned down the goat youkai, even as he made plans to go to the nearest brothel and rent a few companions for the night.

It was that confession that finally drove them apart. Yomi, in an earnest effort to gain the fox's love and admiration, was already leaning towards recklessness in the heists prior. And after that fateful confession, he became downright suicidal, as though he no longer cared whether he lived or died. It was at that point that Kurama closed his heart to the goat youkai forever. Enough was enough, and all that was left was for the fox to kill Yomi.

But no matter how hard he contemplated, how hard he tried, how hard he steeled his heart to be frozen and cold to Yomi, he found that he could not kill Yomi himself. Not after their decades of working together. Not after their friendship, even though it had dissolved into an uneasy truce in the few years after Yomi's confession and Kurama's firm rejection. So, Kurama did the next best thing: he would hire an assassin to do it for him. That way, he would not have to look into Yomi's eyes as he lay dying. He could avoid having the blood of a friend on his hands.

And when Yomi failed to return a few nights later, Kurama could only stare off across the valley from the cliff side entrance of their hideout, wondering if he had made the right decision to spurn the goat youkai's advances to begin with.

To be continued . . .


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: I almost gave up on this fic when I was having a hard time with Chapters 6 and 7. I feel that, out of all of the chapters written thus far, those two had to be strongest, and yet, I feel like they came out the weakest. I had a really hard time writing both of those chapters; they didn't write themselves the way all the others did. But I'm glad I managed to push through, because I really do enjoy telling this story, and I can only hope that you, the reader, will continue to join me through this journey. This story is far from over; I have ideas for a sequel. Enough angst from me, though. Here's Chapter 9.

Kitsunebi

Chapter 9

Kurama sits and stares off into the valley; his feet having subconsciously carried him there as he walked through the forest lost in memories. He had not been there in the years since Yuusuke's return after the Makai Tournament, but now, as the fox looks closer, he realized why his feet had walked him there in the first place. While the sky was the clear blue of the Ningenkai, the scenery was very similar to that same cliff side hideout he and Yomi had used in the Makai during their partnership. And now that there was several centuries of separation between them, Kurama could feel that distinct pull of regret in his heart, a pull that he had decidedly ignored in the first place.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Kurama continues staring at the scenery, knowing just who it would be. "I hope they are not angry with me," Kurama softly says, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"Hn. Didn't think I'd find you here, Fox," Hiei replies, not answering Kurama's concern.

"I hate myself; did you know that, Hiei?" Kurama asks out of the blue.

Hiei's look of surprise was totally missed by the kitsune, who was continuing to stare off into the distance. Not knowing what brought on this sudden change, Hiei thought it wisest to not answer and let the fox express what was on his mind.

"How did it come to this? How did the tables get turned around so easily? I used to be the one with the power, and only now am I even beginning to catch up to where he is." A soft sigh escapes the fox's lips, almost causing Hiei to impulsively rush up behind the fox and hug him. There was no doubt in Hiei's mind who Kurama was talking about. "We used to be so close, worked so well as a team. And now, we cannot be in the same room with each other without one of us wanting to kill or possess the other."

"People change, Kurama. Situations change. Everything changes. Nothing ever stays the same," Hiei replies.

"Now I find myself with no choice but to fight him. A fight I cannot back down from, if only because I have no desire to be his pet, his toy, his _thing_," Kurama spat out the last word in pure disgust.

Hiei walks up next to the kitsune in silent agreement. Hiei had not known the full extent of the youko's history with Yomi, but was not about to push for the details. As though sensing Kurama's loneliness, Hiei cautiously put his arm around Kurama's shoulder, wanting to grant him some small measure of comfort. To Hiei's surprise, Kurama leans into the gesture, resting his head against the half-Koorime's hip as he continued to stare off into the distance. Ruby eyes look down in shock at the crimson curtain below.

As though sensing Hiei's surprise, Kurama pulls back, meeting Hiei's questioning gaze. "I-I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry, Hiei."

Crouching down until he was eye to eye with those beautiful emerald eyes, Hiei could barely keep his voice level. It was taking most of his restraint to not kiss those lips, and take away that pain and loneliness. "No, it's alright. You needed it."

Kurama could hear the raw emotion in Hiei's voice, and instinctively, he searches Hiei's eyes, looking for any trace of falsehood. Finding none, he could tell that there was more to Hiei's face. There was none of the usual arrogant standoffishness he had when he was with Kuwabara and Yuusuke; there was only a tender kindness, friendship, and, perhaps, something more in his eyes. Kurama willed himself to look again and again, wishing against all else that he was not misreading those ruby orbs that was inching ever closer, millimeter by hesitant millimeter. Those doubts were solidly whisked away, at Hiei's first hesitant brush against the fox's lips with his own. And as Kurama pulls Hiei in for a much more heated and passionate second kiss, Hiei's own doubts blew away like yellowing leaves in the autumn wind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was early evening by the time they made it back to the temple. They had spent several more hours watching the sun crawl over the sky, sometimes sharing kisses, sometimes doing little more than enjoy the other's warm embrace. Nothing needed to be said; the initial kisses had exchanged far more emotion than words could ever hope to convey.

And when they entered the room to see a relieved Yuusuke and Kuwabara, Yuusuke thought there was something different about the pair. He could not put a finger on it, but it was clear some sort of understanding had been reached between the two. But for now, they had bigger things to worry about, and Yuusuke brushed the notion aside.

To be continued . . .

AN: Sorry for the short chapter, but I felt it would ruin the romantic mood if I added more. Don't worry, though. Chapter 10's already in the works.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: Sorry about the delay, I had some issues with this chapter, in addition to a RL problem.

Kitsunebi  
Chapter 10

Kurama awoke the next morning to find that he was alone in the futon. When the pair had gone off to sleep together the night before, Yuusuke and Kuwabara thought Hiei went only to keep an eye on the fox, and had not realized there was anything different. Unbeknownst to the other two, Kurama had happily let Hiei into the futon, and the two shared many more kisses and pets before cuddling to sleep together.

And now that he was alone, Kurama could only wonder if yesterday had been something his overloaded mind had come up with to help him cope. He rolls around on the futon, ready to cry his eyes out, until he spots a note on the table in his room. Running over, he unfolds it, reading the neat handwriting. His eyes grow wide as he reads and rereads the message, making sure he had not missed something. Quickly pulling on a bathrobe, he runs out of his room to Yuusuke's. "YUUSUKE! KUWABARA! We need to go, now!"

A pair of sleepy chocolate eyes greets Kurama as the fox stands in the hall, agitated and panicked. "What's going on Kurama, no one's attacking us."

A growl of pure frustration escapes the kitsune's lips as emerald eyes flash gold. Yuusuke instantly startles awake; it was rare for Kurama to express negative emotions the way he had. "It's Hiei," Kurama says, shoving the note into Yuusuke's face as explanation.

To his credit, Yuusuke knew something was up, and takes the note from Kurama. As he finishes reading, he responds the only way he could. "Oh, shit. Kuwabara! We need to go, pronto!"

When Kuwabara did not respond right away, Yuusuke punches the carrot top human in the face. That woke him up fast. "What the hell was that for Urameshi?"

"Hiei's gone and done something stupid. Kurama's about ready to leave with or without us, and given that Hiei's gone off to take care of Yomi _for_ Kurama, I say we go now."

It took a few moments for Kuwabara's sleep and pain-addled brain to put it all together, but when he did, he could only say, "_That_ Yomi?" And when Yuusuke and Kurama nodded, Kuwabara could only say, "Well, fuck."

"Call Botan, we'll meet up outside the temple in 30," Kurama instructs. He continues, cold steel evident in his voice, "And if you don't want to come, that's fine too. I'm going no matter what."

With that Kurama walks back to his room, opening his drawers to get clothes to change into. As he reaches for a pair of white pants, he changes his mind, digging deeper into the drawer for a different set of clothes. 'Yes,' he thinks, 'this should do.' A few moments later, Kurama stands, buttoning up a long black tunic with white trim. He had pulled on a pair of black pants, and, once he was done with the buttons, tied the tunic at the waist with a white sash. Grabbing a brush, he carefully brushes out the sleep-induced tangles in his hair while taking inventory of the seeds he had carefully tucked inside. Deciding he needed a few extras, he walks over to a chest in his room, one he had specifically kept at the temple in case of an emergency, like now. Carefully rummaging through seed packets, he pulls seeds out of various packages, tucking them into his hair. Setting those aside, he pulls out a large bag of rose seeds and opens it, digging through the smaller bags inside until he finds the colors he was searching for. Tucking those into his hair also, he walks out of his room to the front steps of the temple.

To his surprise, Kuwabara, Yuusuke and Puu were already there; both changed into their customary battle outfits. Yuusuke quirked an eyebrow at Kurama's choice of color; it was rare for the kitsune to wear black, let alone all black. "Botan said she'd be here in a few moments."

"Good," Kurama replies, carefully controlling himself to avoid showing his anxiety to the other two. "You are not obligated to come with me, you know."

"You're both our friends. Of course we'll come," Yuusuke offhandedly replies. If there was anything about Kurama that truly annoyed the Spirit Detective-turned-Makai Lord, this was it. The fox, at least, in his human guise, had an unnatural tendency to put his personal needs second, even if his wish was to go help a mutual friend. "Besides, it's been so quiet lately; I wouldn't mind a little action." As though to prove his point, Yuusuke starts cracking his knuckles.

Before Kurama could have another go at persuading Yuusuke and Kuwabara from coming along, Botan pops out of a portal, apologies written all over her face. "Sorry for taking so long. The paperwork took longer than expected."

"Gonna have to make it a big one, Botan," Yuusuke starts. "We're aware you'd have to drop me on my side of the border, so, let's just take Puu there. I doubt we'd lose too much of the element of surprise given Hiei's gone way ahead of us."

Without another thought, Botan opens up a large portal as the three hop onto Puu's back. "Good luck!" Botan shouts after the trio. Quietly, under her breath, she continues, "Don't make me go there after any of you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiei knew what he was doing would upset Kurama, but after their talk the prior day, Hiei realized that this was something Kurama would be unable to accomplish. If nothing else, living life as a human for the past twenty or so years had turned the fox into a walking conscience and guilt machine, and thus, even _if_ Yomi deserved, at the bare minimum, a good ass kicking, the fox would hesitate and let his personal guilt over his past stop him. So, the fire youkai decided, he would do it for the fox. And so, after carefully moving the redhead's arm that was lazily draped across his chest and a soft kiss on the redhead's forehead, Hiei got dressed, and left.

Hiei skids to a sudden halt as he senses the youki of Yomi's border patrol guards. He weighed his options. He could go across the border with under the guise of continuing negotiations on Mukuro's behalf, or he could just slip past by heading due east an hour to a highly forested area. In the wee hours of the morning, where the shadows of the trees would provide him with plenty of cover, sneaking through should be an easy task. Having made up his mind, he sprints off towards the false dawn.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The flight to the Torin-Gandara border had been relatively short, and Puu was looking rather chipper to be able to spread its wings and fly around the Makai. By this point, it was noon, and as Kurama reached out with his senses, he was fidgety that he had been unable to detect any traces of Hiei. The grasses and trees, though, did tell him the exact position of the border patrols.

"Which plan are we going with?" Yuusuke asks, cracking his knuckles. "Plan A?"

Kurama lets out a small chuckle. "No, Yuusuke. Plan A would get every border patrol in the area on us, not to mention start an all-out war considering _you're_ the Lord of Torin. Best we sneak in. Follow me." The fox heads off the main path to the west. "There is a network of caves here I used to use back when Kuronue was my partner. I had taken care to make sure they were very well hidden. I doubt even Yomi found them. We will cross the border there."

Sure enough, after a half an hour of walking, there was a rocky cliff covered in vines. Walking over to it, Kurama reaches out with his youki, and the vines retreat, revealing a cave entrance. Another half hour and a series of confusing turns later, Kurama touches some vines, revealing the exit. As he leaves, the vines on both ends of the cave return to their earlier position.

"Where are we?" Yuusuke asks, not entirely familiar with Gandara.

"Three hours away from Yomi's castle if we go at a dead run," Kurama replies, forcing his voice to remain calm. He could not afford to let the other two know how worried he was about Hiei.

"Lead the way," Kuwabara says, eyes scanning for trouble.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"The main entrance into the capitol is just ahead. However, if we circle around a small ways west, there is a small break in the wall and another network of passages that would grant us direct access to the castle basement, right next to the dungeons," Kurama says, scanning the town. He stops, puzzled at the large pyre that was burning brightly in the middle of town and the large amount of construction and repairs going on. "Did something happen here?"

"You don't know what happened?" Yuusuke asks. Kurama shakes his head slightly. "When Hiei cut that pendant off of you, you released all of your youki at once. And then you shifted into your fox form for a few days. Hiei and I weren't sure what to make of that, but at the time, given the mess you had made, we decided it was best that we hauled ass instead of hanging around to fight Yomi."

Kurama process that piece of information, taking various other pieces of information into account. First and foremost, he knew he had very good control over his youki. Always had, and his analytical nature has allowed him to kill as efficiently as he could. All things considered, if the pendant had caused him to lose control of his youki like that, it meant that it was also absorbing youki from him, no doubt working as a power limiter of sorts. He mentally curses Yomi, as there was only one magical artifact in the three worlds that fit that description. 'I had heard that artifact was missing several centuries ago, but I didn't think _Yomi_ was the one who stole it.'

Picking their way through the outskirts of the city, they reach the back of the castle, where massively overgrown vines snaked down the sides and out onto the ground. "In theory, there is a secret entrance here," Kurama says, picking his way through the thick ropes of vines towards the wall. Pushing some aside and releasing a small amount of youki, an entrance appears. Stepping inside and adjusting to the dimmer lights, he whispers, "I don't think the plants affected too much of the structural integrity of the tunnel. This place should lead us out to the basement and dungeon of the castle. From there, we should be able to track-" Kurama interrupts himself as he senses Hiei's youki flare to full power, followed by another familiar flare. Yomi. "We need to hurry. I doubt Hiei can take on Yomi alone."

To be continued . . .

AN: As usual, drop me a review! I like knowing what my readers think!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: Over 1000 hits? Wow, I didn't think you guys would like this story so much! Arigatou gozaimasu! *bows* And now, without further ado, *grabs microphone* "Urameshi Team vs. Yomi! Hajime!"

Kitsunebi

Chapter 11

At the same time Kurama, Yuusuke and Kuwabara entered the tunnel in the castle walls; Hiei had taken the liberty of using his Jagan to sneak past the guards and was now standing in front of Yomi in his throne room, his body practically humming from the pre-combat rush. "You kidnapped a friend and then bent him to your will. Then you had the gall to mind rape him. The penalty is death."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such harsh language and tone," Yomi mockingly replies. "And Hiei, you really do not understand anything." He rises from his chair before continuing. "You think Kurama is so warm and caring, that he gives a shit about some mutt of a Forbidden Child? Don't make me laugh. He's a youko. He'll use you and then toss you aside like yesterday's trash."

"Che," Hiei replies, pulling off his cloak and settling into a combat stance. If there was anything Hiei was sure of was that Kurama had made a clean break with his youko past. Watching the fox fight Shigure had told him that much. "You don't know him anymore. Enough chatter, I plan on finishing this fight some time today." Hiei flares his youki, disappearing in a black blur.

"You can't win, and you should know that." Yomi ducks as his heightened senses tell him Hiei coming in from behind to slash at his neck. Hiei uses the momentum of the strike to keep moving to dodge Yomi's counterattack. From there, a deadly dance of katana versus fist began. Tapestries were suddenly halved as Hiei's narrow misses slice through them; all the while, Yomi dodges the misses, circling his throne room, face passive.

'Just like Kurama. No facial expressions in combat,' Hiei muses. 'But this is getting old.' He stops, ripping off his Jagan, unleashing more of his youki. He charges, faster than before, managing to slice Yomi's tunic as the goat youkai dodged right milliseconds too slow to completely avoid it.

"Just like Urameshi." Yomi took that moment to flare up his Reppahanshougeki. Hiei charges again, sword held two-handed and to the side, ready to strike. Yomi stands, watching Hiei's expression change as the energy shield holds up against the blade. "Useless piece of trash," Yomi says, his right fist glowing as he charges up a youki attack.

Hiei, remembering Yuusuke's fight with Yomi in the Makai Tournament, pulls back and dodges the first few. Needing more space to maneuver, he takes full advantage of his speed, running along the wall so he was parallel to the ground. Missed shots riddle the throne room's walls, causing dust and stone chips to fly all around the room. Landing once the attack stopped, Hiei charges in again, this time, manifesting his Jaoh Ensatsu Ken technique. A green and black sword of pure Makai flame appears instantly, clashing with the shield. While it seemed to bend slightly, Yomi increased the amount of youki he was feeding it, solidly repelling sword and flinging Hiei back. Hiei back flips in the air, using his shoes and hand to slow him down on the now gravelly floor, all three eyes on Yomi, waiting for the goat youkai's next move. His katana, no longer on fire, clatters to the ground between them.

"Just give up. This is futile," Yomi calmly declares from behind his shield. "Look, you seem smart enough, Hiei. Retract your claim on Kurama, and I'll let you live."

Hiei straightens, flaring his youki to maximum and fixing Yomi with a glare that would have given a deity a pause. It would have had the desired effect, if the goat youkai could see. "You misunderstand me, Yomi. I don't share." As if to punctuate his statement, he charges forward, right hand reaching low to scoop up his favored weapon. Once more the sword is on fire as Hiei throws the weapon at a point at the shield. It holds, and the sword is flung back in a long arc, landing somewhere behind Hiei. Concentrating the dark flames of the Makai into his fists, he assaults the shield, barraging it with a blur of punches. The katana and the punches were having the desired effect as Hiei could feel his punches reaching mere millimeters further than the prior one.

Yomi ignores the attack, knowing his shield would hold and kicks the half-Koorime with his right leg, sending the petite youkai flying into what was left of the wall. As Hiei shakes his head to clear it from the impact with the thick stone wall, Yomi replies, "No, you misunderstand _me_. I'm not asking you to share." Yomi uses his energy blast technique again, landing a series of hits on Hiei, sending him deeper and deeper into the wall until the fire youkai could feel his back hit the empty air of the adjacent room.

Picking himself out of the hole in the wall, Hiei lands, flaring his youki to maximum. "Fine. Playtime is over." Pulling the bandages from his right arm, an ear piercing shriek echoes through the castle as the black flame dragon tattoo comes to life.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kurama, Yuusuke, and Kuwabara cover their ears as the ear piercing shriek echoes down through the corridors, reaching ever closer to the fight. "Hiei's using the dragon, we don't have much time."

"How much further?" Kuwabara asks, panting heavily from keeping up.

"Not much further; they're fighting in the throne room." The three ran on, Kurama's tunic fluttering in his wake like a black shadow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tapestries spontaneously burst into black flame as the throne room shakes with the raw power Hiei is releasing. The ceiling falls around them as not one, but six large snake-like dragons suddenly explode into being thousands of meters above them. His Jagan wide open and glowing a bright purple, Hiei releases the dragon from his arm, "JAOH ENSATSU KOKURYUUHA!" Three of the heads encircle and crash down onto the Makai lord, jaws wide open and intent on messy fiery destruction. Hiei calls the remaining three into himself, enjoying the rush of raw power that came with fusing with the dragon.

Yomi's shield flares to maximum power as the floor begins cracking under his feet. As the floor and shield begin to give way, Yomi looks up just in time to see Hiei coming down at him from above; dark flame shrouds his fist, leaving trails in the air. The goat youkai gathers energy in his fists, shooting energy bolts in an attempt to break past the dragons and hit Hiei. Dust and stone chips fly everywhere, obscuring the two fighters as their attacks clashed.

"A good try, but I am still standing," Yomi declares as the dust settles. Dropping his shield, he walks forward, kicking Hiei's prone form onto his back before planting his right foot squarely over the half-Koorime's chest. Charging up a full-power blast, he aims it squarely at Hiei's face. "I win."

Before Yomi could fire, though, a thorny Rose Whip wraps around his hand, slicing the Makai Lord's wrist and hands as he jumps back away from Hiei. "Not yet." The whip pulls back into the dust as three figures make their way through.

"Oi, Hiei, you forgot about us!" Yuusuke cheerfully exclaims. Turning to Yomi, he says, "You, bastard, are going down!" Yomi's shield goes up once more as Hiei unsteadily rises to his feet to stand next to his comrades.

To be continued . . .

AN: I hope I managed to keep the pace of the combat moving fast enough. I always feel like words are insufficient when it comes to describing anything fast paced. Since I think the attacks sound pretty lame in English, here are the translations for the attacks (for those not in the know):

Jaoh Ensatsu Ken: Sword of the Darkness Flame

Jaoh Ensatsu Kokuryuuha: Dragon of the Darkness Flame

Reppahanshougeki: Demon Energy Absorption Wall (No idea if this is consistent with the DVD releases, just what I found on the YYH wiki)


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: As Chaseha-Wing pointed out, the original version of this chapter I'd posted was a little confusing. Hopefully, now that I've edited it, it's clearer. And now, Urameshi Team vs. Yomi, round 2! Hajime!

Kitsunebi

Chapter 12

Charging up a full-power blast, Yomi aims it squarely at Hiei's face. "I win."

Before Yomi could fire, though, a thorny Rose Whip wraps around his hand, slicing the Makai Lord's wrist and hands as he jumps back away from Hiei. "Not yet," a cold determined voice states. The whip pulls back into the dust as three figures make their way through.

"Oi, Hiei, you forgot about us!" Yuusuke cheerfully exclaims. Turning to Yomi, he says, "You, bastard, are going down!" Yomi's shield goes up once more as Hiei unsteadily rises to his feet to stand next to his comrades.

"And what do you plan on doing? In case you hadn't noticed, that silly dragon did nothing to me," Yomi calmly says, dropping into a defensive stance. "And in case you forgot, Mazoku, I won the last time we fought. Kurama, I'm so disappointed in you. Here I was, thinking that you'd come back."

"You forget, Yomi, that foxes don't like being caged."

Yomi replies with a twisted smirk, "Now, now, you didn't seem to mind your last stay here much. You were screaming so loudly and begging for me so much why, I thought you'd wake the whole castle!"

The comment hit a nerve, as Kurama's eyes narrow, green and gold swirling in his irises. His hair straightens, and starts to turn silver as his aura begins to visibly surround him. His red-silver hair ruffles in some unseen wind as he sends a cold hard glare in Yomi's direction. Hiei could only watch in awe and appreciation as the fox's aura visualized as a purple rising mist, tendrils floating and dissipating as they rose above the kitsune's head. "I think this has gone on for long enough. It's time for me to do what I should have done the first time around."

"I'd hate to kill you; you're such a pretty fox and absolutely divine in bed," Yomi replies, his voice like lava flowing down the side of a volcano. "Think about it, Kurama, me, the ruler of the worlds, you, my consort at my side. Isn't that what we dreamed of back then?"

Kurama, though, had decided that Yomi's last statement did not even deign a response. He simply charged, half transformed as he was, Rose Whip in hand in an instant. Yomi dodges the strike, raising his Reppahanshougeki once more. Kurama whirls around with the Rose Whip to strike again, red and silver hair swirling around him. The whip bounces off the shield, causing sparks of energy to fly off of it. Green-gold eyes focus on Yomi as Kurama passively catches the whip. Out of the corner of fox's eye, he catches a flash of red and blue as he hears Yuusuke shout "REIGUN!" from his left.

The massive ball of pure reiki gouges a path in the stone floor as it crashes into Yomi, destroying his shield. Kurama takes that moment to slash at the goat youkai from the air. "KAGON RETSUZANSHI!" The whip moves in dizzying patterns, landing cuts all over Yomi. Yomi replies with a youki blast in Yuusuke's direction as the goat youkai whirls to kick Kurama across the room. Yuusuke manages dodge the hit, but the kick lands and Kurama is flung across the room. The fox flips in the air and skids to the wall.

Hiei and Kuwabara take that moment to charge Yomi, Hiei's Jaoh Ensatsu Ken flaring to life as Kuwabara manifests his Jigen Tou. Yomi turns at the last second, both attacks missing him. The goat youkai lets a smirk grace his lips as he hits the back of Hiei's head with his left fist and kicks Kuwabara with his right leg. The sheer force of the hit causes Hiei to land head first on the ground, leaving yet another gouge in the stone floor. He lands next to Kurama. Kuwabara goes flying back into the wall, leaving a large dent as he lands face first onto the floor.

Before Yomi had a chance to take advantage of the situation, Yuusuke had leapt in, trying to land ki-enhanced blows on the Makai Lord. Yomi succeeded in deftly dodging them all, until Kurama persuades a few vines to grow in through the roof. While Yomi's senses were sharp, the sheer amount of energy in the room had made him miss the presence of those vines, and by the time he did, they had bound his arms to his torso and his legs together. Try as he might to break them, the sheer amount of youki Kurama was feeding them made them too hard to break easily, and Yuusuke had taken full advantage of that situation to lay it into the Makai Lord.

"Hiei! Now!" Yuusuke shouts, giving Yomi one last hard punch, sending the Makai Lord flying backwards. The Mazoku jumps into the air, charging a youki/reiki hybrid bullet on his finger, as Hiei lands a follow up hit with his flame covered fists, knocking Yomi down in the opposite direction. As Yomi falls, Hiei takes his opportunity to leap up next to Yuusuke, summoning up every last drop of his youki for the next attack.

"JAOH ENSATSU KOKURYUUHA!"

"REIGUN!" As the two attacks race towards Yomi, they spiral together, until they fuse into one attack: the Kokuryuuha wrapped in a spiral of brilliant red and blue energy. The dragon roars at Yomi as he desperately raises his energy shield once more to absorb the attack. Dust and stone shards obscure all vision as the point blank attack crashes into his shield. His cry of pure agony was the only indication the attack had torn through the shielding and hit him.

As Hiei and Yuusuke land, Kuwabara runs over to them, shouting, "You guys got him!"

Hiei, weary after using the last of youki, drops to his knees. He was mere moments from dropping into forced hibernation. A glint amidst the dust, though, had him using life force to propel his legs fast enough to block the next hit. Looking down, he smiles. "I . . . made . . . it . . . Kurama," he manages to stutter out before sliding down to the ground.

Kurama's eyes could only widen in shock as he took in what had happened; as his rage dissipates, he returns to his normal redheaded form. Hiei was kneeling in front of him, with his own katana speared through his body. Blood drips down from the sword, pooling at the floor. As Yuusuke and Kuwabara rush over to tend to their fallen friend, Kurama gently sets the fiery youkai on his side. Looking down at the unconscious and bleeding form at his feet, he quietly says in a deathly calm voice, "Hiei, your sacrifice will not be in vain." Glancing at his friends with eyes that held so much emotion, but mostly concern, he coldly says, "Yomi's mine." Looking up, he fixes with a hard frozen glare. Even blind, Yomi could not help but flinch.

Quickly recovering, Yomi says, "If I cannot have you, Kurama, no one can. Least of all a reject like him!"

Taking a few steps forward, Kurama pulls out a jet black rose as he once more enters his half transformed state. "Reject? He's the heir to Mukuro's realm. He's no reject. You? You disgust me. You can't even get someone to warm your bed without resorting to cheap tricks."

"In case you forgot, you fell for those very same cheap tricks before moaning like a whore in my bed!" Yomi drops into a defensive stance as his shield flares to life once more. To his shock, the shield briefly flickers before dying out.

Seeing his opening, Kurama tears into Yomi with the whip, forcing the lord into a deadly dance of dodging the thorny whip; each hit coming closer than the next. Had Yomi not been hit with Yuusuke and Hiei's combined attack, dueling Kurama would have been easy. But as it were, Yomi knew he had to end this quickly before his body gave out altogether. Deciding he had had enough of dodging, he sneaks forward, past the whip, landing a series of punches on Kurama, sending the kitsune flying backwards.

Pushing his advantage, he rushes forward to strike, only to have the fox disappear in a blur of black, red, and silver and slash at his open back. Yomi lets out a cry of pain as the thorns dig in, blood drops flying in the air as the whip pulls back. Coldly, Kurama throws a handful of Shimaneki seeds at Yomi's opened back. A few land in the cuts while Yomi manages to move away the others. The seedlings, encouraged by Kurama's angry youki, hungrily grow on Yomi's exposed flesh and blood. "It's over."

"Never. This is a fight to the death." Yomi reaches back behind him, pulling out the plants and flinging them aside before charging at Kurama again, fists launching youki blasts at the fox. Kurama deftly dodges them, the blasts harmlessly passing by the fox. Loosely holding his whip in his right hand, Kurama summons his Youzan Ken in his left, using it to deflect the second wave as he charges at Yomi for another attack. Yomi leaps to his left, dodging the whip, but Kurama swings the whip to the right to follow, catching Yomi's right ankle. Wrenching the whip forward, Kurama slams Yomi into the stone floor. The Makai lord's back slams into the cold stone floor, stone chips digging painfully into the open cuts in his back.

Kurama takes that opening to jump down and stab Yomi in the stomach with the Youzan Ken on his left arm. Yomi grins, sending a youki blast upwards at Kurama as the fox lands his blow. Caught off guard, Kurama goes flying into the non-existent ceiling. Landing on his feet several feet away, Kurama warily eyes Yomi as the goat youkai tries to get back onto his feet, blood pouring out of the stab wound in his abdomen. A jet black rose lies a few inches away from the lord.

"It's . . . not . . . over . . . yet," Yomi gasps, spitting up a mouthful of blood.

"It's over. You can't even stand anymore." Kurama coldly stares at the goat youkai, waiting for his next move.

"No, I don't think so. If I am going to meet Enma, I'm taking someone with me." Kurama's eyes widen, realizing that in his single-minded focus on killing Yomi, he was now on the far side of the room from Hiei. Yuusuke and Kuwabara had succeeded in removing Hiei's sword, but could not stop the bleeding from the wound. For that, they knew, they would need a healer. Yomi releases all of his remaining energy in one huge blast; the blast was so large that it spanned the width of the room. Yuusuke whirls around and shoots off a Yougun at it. To his dismay, the blast slowed down little and broke past the blast. Yuusuke tries again, charging a larger blast and as it made contact with Yomi's blast, continued to feed it his youki.

Kuwabara scoops up Hiei, leaving a trail of blood, and runs for the door of the throne room, only to find that it was locked. "Kurama, it's locked!"

"Yomi that bastard," Kurama curses, scooping up the fallen black rose from where it lay next to Yomi's body.

"Ha-ha, in the end, Kurama, I win," Yomi says as he falls unconscious. "Your comrades will fall along with your lover."

To be continued . . .

AN: Major bonus points if people know my inspiration for the Yuusuke/Hiei combo attack. (Hint: It's from a videogame.) Drop me a review! They make me update faster. =)

Also, translations for the attacks used in this chapter (as taken from the YYH wiki):

Reigun = Spirit Gun

Yougun = Demon Gun

Kagon Retsuzanshi = Rose Whiplash

Youzan Ken = The Binding Fist of the Demonic Vine

Shimaneki Seed = Seed of the Death Plant

Jigen Tou = Dimension Sword

Jaoh Ensatsu Kokuryuuha = Dragon of the Darkness Flame

Jaoh Ensatsu Ken = Sword of the Darkness Flame


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: This is it, the end. Thank you everyone for reading! The song I use in this chapter is "Dear, My Angel" sung by none other than Megumi Ogata. Lyrics and translation credit goes to Risu-chan, who posted them on . _(Blah blah blah)_ are song lyrics. And it goes without saying, of course, that there will be much fluff ahead.

Kitsunebi

Chapter 13

Yomi, deciding that he was not going to go see Enma alone, shoots off a huge youki blast towards Yuusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara.

"Yomi that bastard," Kurama curses, scooping up the fallen black rose from where it lay next to Yomi's body.

"Ha-ha, in the end, Kurama, I win," Yomi mutters as he falls unconscious. "Your comrades will fall along with your lover."

Yuusuke tries again with the Yougun, desperately trying to slow down the blast. Kuwabara gently sets down an unconscious Hiei and summons his Jigen Tou. The heavy wooden and steel doors were no match for the spiritual weapon as Kuwabara slices them into quarters. A mighty kick from the tall human was all it took to knock the door down. "Urameshi, hurry!"

"Kurama, we'll meet you outside! We've got Hiei!" Scooping up Hiei, Yuusuke and Kuwabara dash through the door and out the same way they came in, hurrying to escape the blast. Once Yuusuke's Yougun was negated, Yomi's final attack rushes through the walls of the castle, exploding off in the distance. A mushroom cloud in the distance blossomed as a final testament of the Makai Lord's power.

Kurama walks over to him, and lays down the black rose on his chest. "Sayonara, old friend." As the fox runs out of the castle, he senses another youki signature running for where Yomi's body lay. The anguished scream that echoes through the castle a few minutes later confirms the kitsune's suspicions. 'I only hope you'll forgive me, Shura.'

Outside, he rushes over to Hiei, who was still bleeding. "Call Botan, I'll do what I can." Hiei was deathly pale, and his heart beat was slow. Pulling seeds out of his hair, he grows two large leaves. Breaking them off of the plant, he puts one leaf on each side of the wound before pulling off his long white sash to wrap Hiei's injury. Blood rapidly soaks through the sash, turning it a deep red. 'Stay with me Hiei, I need you here.' Concentrating some more, the kitsune's aura flares to life as he transfers enough youki to replace the life energy Hiei had used to protect Kurama.

"Yuusuke! What happened?" Botan asks as she sees Hiei's unconscious form.

"Emergency portal to the temple, and then healing," Kurama says.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Three days later, Hiei was still unconscious. He lay there in his futon, peacefully sleeping; the only outward sign of life was the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Botan and Yukina had both done the best they can; they both healed his physical wounds. But the blood loss was something the girls could not hope to fix. It was something Hiei had to overcome by himself. Since then, Kurama had not left the fire youkai's bedside. Thinking of a love song his mother loved, Kurama begins to quietly sing, hoping that maybe, his voice would lead the little fire youkai back to world of consciousness. To him.

_(ano hi maiorita hitohira no shiro ga_

_subete no hajimari datta ne_

_omoi mo yoranai sono atatakasa ni_

_boku wa tomadotteta_

_The day when that fragment of white fluttered down_

_was the beginning of everything, wasn't it?_

_Even my thoughts are unreliable;_

_I'm cast adrift by the warmth.)_

As the fox diligently watches Hiei's cherubic sleeping face, he could only think of the past. 'Please, don't leave me too; I don't think I can live without you. Not now, knowing the feelings you have for me hidden in your heart.' Rising, he walks over to get the hot water Yukina had brought in. Pulling seeds out from his chest of medicinal herbs, he grows a few to make a tea to help the little fire youkai create more blood.

_(chiisa na tsubasa o hiroge todoketekureta_

_[hiiru] no mahou o kaketa himitsu no hane_

_You spread your little wings and gradually gave to me_

_the secret feathers which began that healing magic.)_

A small smile graces the fox's lips as he remembers their fateful meeting so long ago. 'Just like yesterday . . .' Indeed, to the kitsune, it was only yesterday that he had met Hiei, that they had fought while Kurama was on his way home from school with Maya. Only yesterday that they agreed to a temporary truce of sorts to take down Yatsude. Only yesterday, that Kurama finally decided that he could move on, away from his past, away from Kuronue.

_(Dear, my angel kagayaite itsudemo egao misete_

_donna tooku hanaretete mo kanjiteru soba ni iru_

_Dear my angel, keep shining; always let me see your smile._

_No matter what kind of distance parts us, I feel like I'm near you.)_

As they got to know each other better, Hiei would come and walk home with the fox. While most would not notice, Kurama could not help but notice the corners of the otherwise ornery youkai's lips upturn just the slightest at the fox getting mobbed by his fan club on his way out of the school. And as always, Kurama greeted Hiei with a smile of relief and a cheerful "Hello Hiei!" while the fire youkai would reply with his trademark grunt.

_(ano ame no yoru ni hajimete kizuita_

_kimi no sono kata no hososa_

_suterareta koneko omowaseru you na_

_hitomi sorasenakute_

_On that rainy night when I first noticed_

_your shoulders' slenderness,_

_it made me think [you were] like an abandoned kitten,_

_without letting [me] turn [my] eyes away)_

The first time it rained at night after they met, Kurama was surprised to hear his window gently squeak open as he sat at in bed reading a book before bed. It had started to rain heavily, and a rather wet Hiei stood on the window sill, looking mildly sheepish. Kurama had only laughed and went to the bathroom to get a spare towel, along with a spare change of clothes. Even now, Kurama kept a few sets of his old clothes at his place so that Hiei could have something to wear should he ever get caught in a storm. Not that it had happened recently, with Hiei working to become Mukuro's heir.

_(egao no shita ni kakureta ikutsu mo no kizu ni_

_[hiiru] no mahou o kometa [kisu] shiyou_

_in order to put healing magic into_

_the various wounds hidden beneath that smile, let's kiss.)_

Removing the leaves, Kurama pours the tea into a bowl, and gently lifts the youkai up to dribble the tea into Hiei's mouth. 'Come back to me Hiei, I don't want that kiss we shared only four days ago to be our first, only, and last. I want to spend the rest of my life with you; I don't want to let you go.'

_(Dear, my angel kizuiteru? Boku ni wa mieteiru yo_

_sono senaka no mabushii wa dono junpaku no takaramono_

_Dear, my angel, do you notice? I can see you!_

_Your back's dazzling is a pure white treasure.)_

The first time Kurama ever saw Hiei in his room in the afternoon for no other reason than "just because" had been in the middle of winter. The winter sun was setting early and Hiei was looking out the window, his body silhouetted by the orange glow of the setting sun. Kurama's breath had hitched at that, finding a sad beauty in the sight before him.

_(Dear, my sweetheart bokutachi wa kakaeta kizu no kazu no_

_sono bun dake tondeyukeru yukkuri to tooku made_

_Dear, my sweetheart, both of us have a number of wounds carried in our arms._

_With only that much [to bear], you can slowly fly to that distance.)_

It had been no surprise to Kurama that Hiei had no visible scars to speak of, but the ones on his heart had made the youko in him curious. He loved a challenge, and ever since their first meeting, he would puzzle over the curiosity that made up the mind of the small fire youkai. He knew, over time, that he would find his way into the small youkai's heart. But first, though, he would start by being his friend.

_(Instrumental interlude)_

The tea all but forgotten, tears gently drip down the fox's face as he clutches Hiei's body close to him. He had stopped singing, his voice and mind too clouded with emotions to continue. The kitsune was so lost in his own world that he barely notices Hiei beginning to stir.

_(Dear, my angel kagayaite itsudemo egao misete_

_wasurenaide donna toki mo sasaeteru soba ni iru I love you_

_Dear, my angel, keep shining; always let me see your smile;_

_never forget, no matter when, I'll be near, supporting you; I love you.)_

"Kurama . . ." Hiei starts, trying to move. "If you hold me any tighter, I'm going to die for real."

"Hi-Hiei!" At this, Kurama starts crying harder, as the tensions of the past three days come crashing down on the fox. All the while, the kitsune showers his beloved with kisses.

"Hn. If a sword to the stomach didn't kill you, it certainly won't kill me," Hiei replies with a smirk, hugging his fox closer.

Kurama pulls apart, drying his eyes before pulling Hiei in for a searing kiss. Hiei hungrily responds, knowing his fox needed reassurance that this was real, that he was alive, and that all was well. And the pair might have gone further, had the door suddenly not opened. Three people, two red as a ripe tomato, one green as an unripe tomato, stood at the door.

"Uh, um, we'll, uh, be, um, outside. Yeah. Outside," says the tomato named Yuusuke. He turns around to run before an irate fire youkai came charging after him for interrupting his playtime with his fox.

"Good plan, Urameshi," the green face says, wheeling around as fast as he could, almost hitting the door frame.

"Um, good to see you're awake and well!" says the other tomato named Yukina. "Go easy on him, Kurama; don't want him to get injured again!" She runs off after the other two.

Hiei rises to go attack the foolish Mazoku and the oaf for interrupting him and letting his sister see him in such a, uh, interesting situation, but is stopped by Kurama pulling him back to the futon. "You can get your revenge on those two later; stay here with me for now."

A few kisses along the fire youkai's neck convinced him that yes, he did have unfinished business with his fox. And punishment to the oaf and the dimwit can wait. For now, he had his fox. The rest of the world could go destroy itself for all Hiei cared, as long as he could be with his fox forever.

As for the dimwit and the oaf, they breathed a huge sigh of relief when they saw that Hiei had not chased after them. When they next peeked in again, they had found the pair cuddled on the futon, fast asleep, looking content as ever. Answers and teasing would come later, but for now, helping Yukina prepare dinner while watching over their friends seemed like a good idea.

AN: Just a quick epilogue left before the end. I hope you all enjoyed it! Leave me a review!


	14. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Reader Warnings: Shounen-ai (AKA Slash, M/M), lime, pairings: Hiei x Kurama, Yomi x Kurama, Yuusuke x Keiko, Kuwabara x Yukina

AN: This really is the end; I have a sequel in the works, but it'll probably be posted much slower than this fic.

Kitsunebi

Epilogue

A few days later, Hiei had fully recovered, and Yuusuke had used that as an excuse to hold a party at the temple. As the party dies down, Hiei and Kurama retreats into one of the other guest rooms together for the night; unnoticed by the others. The moment the door slid shut, Kurama leans down to give Hiei a passionate kiss. Tongues duel for dominance as they stagger backwards towards the futon in the middle of the room. Pulling Kurama down into the covers with him, Hiei breaks the kiss to say, "Don't go," before beginning to unbutton the fox's shirt.

"Never," came the whispered reply between searing kisses.

Hands begin roaming under clothes, desperate to remove the offending pieces of cloth to uncover skin. With a growl, Hiei rolls Kurama to the bottom, leaving the fox's red hair to fan out around him like a crimson halo of blood. The kitsune had to bite back a moan as Hiei attacks his neck, nibbling and kissing his way down to the fox's chest.

After many more kisses and caresses, the pair finally fell into a deep sleep, secure in each others arms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kurama's eyes flutter open, finding himself at the frozen lake in his soul. Looking around, he spots Yomi on the bridge, staring into the lake. This time, though, there was no malice in his eyes. If anything, there was a warm welcome expressed in them. A welcome befitting an old friend. Kurama's thoughts, though, ground to a halt when those eyes very clearly focused on him. Walking over, he asks, surprised, "Y-Yomi? What are you doing here?"

"Leaving you a parting message before Koenma passes judgment on me." Seeing Kurama's puzzled look, Yomi continues. "My kingdom is now yours. You bested me in combat; therefore, by Makai law, it is yours."

"And Shura? What of him?"

"Shura is too young and weak to rule a kingdom. If he were to take over now, he'd be dead in a week. Who wouldn't take the opportunity to kill him to rule over half the Makai? It would be utter chaos."

Kurama stands, considering the situation. He knew that if he were to take over Gandara now, peace would come to the Makai. Yuusuke was his friend, and Mukuro, with Hiei as her heir, was most certainly an ally. It could work. But truth was, Kurama wanted no part of it. He had no interest in becoming a ruler of any sort; he would much rather stay in the Ningenkai as a human. For now, at least. Looking for an excuse, he asks, "And how well would Shura take this?"

"I will speak to him when he next sleeps. He will listen to me and obey." Yomi's voice was firm and held no ground for argument.

"But I don't think he will understand what happened." Kurama's voice, on the other hand, was much calmer, quieter. "I-I'm sorry," the kitsune mumbles. There was no need to voice the question. It was clear what was on the fox's mind.

"What for? I understand why you did what you had to. I was foolish. But had you not blinded me, rejected me, I would not have gotten as far as I did."

"Not just for then. For now too."

A small smile graces Yomi's lips. "I was hoping I could change your mind with that pendant by showing you what could have been. But then I should have known better to cage a fox."

A small ringing sound echoes through the dream world. "That's Koenma telling me it's time to go. I still need to talk to Shura before I move on. But before I go, can you transform into Youko Kurama for me, one last time?"

Mist swirls up from the lake, obscuring the redhead. A gust of wind clears it, revealing Kurama's silver youko form. Yomi smiles before leaning in to brush a gentle kiss on the youko's cheek. "I truly am sorry I could not persuade you to stay with me. I would have enjoyed running Gandara with you by my side."

The scene fades away, leaving Kurama with the lingering kiss, and gentle warm darkness. Out in the real world, where he lay sleeping next to Hiei, a scroll proclaiming him the new leader of Gandara appears on the nightstand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Koenma enters the Reikai vaults, searching for four files his father had asked for. It was rare that Enma himself would ask Koenma to fetch files for him, so clearly, whatever it was; it was meant to be a secret. Even stranger still, was that his father had not asked only for the files of their current incarnations, but past reincarnations as well. But then again, Koenma never thought his father would take such an interest in his Reikai Tantei team. Walking through the shelves, Koenma could only sigh as he pulls the first set of files down, slowly wandering through the halls for the next ones from their last reincarnation.

To be continued in Meikai Monogatari . . .


End file.
